An Eternal Art
by V. Shalyr
Summary: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. DNAngel crossover, KaiShin
1. Artnapped

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

**WARNINGS: Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned **

**AN**: This is a gift fic for Alaena F. Dragonstar. She asked me to write her a DNA crossover that had some kind of art magic in it, and it's taken me awhile but here it is.

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><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>I<strong>

**Art-napped**

When the letter had first arrived in the mail, Shinichi hadn't given it a second thought. It was amazing how much junk mail he and Kaito received between the two of them, everything from fan letters to death threats and the occasional, more ordinary postcard from Hakuba and Ran who were currently touring England. Of course, it hadn't exactly been a _normal_ letter, but then neither was a lot of the other mail that ended up on their kitchen table. Still, he sure as hell remembered it now—now when it was already too late…

.

It had been printed on ivory parchment in red ink, the script elegant and unfamiliar.

_Don't let him go. _

Shinichi frowned at the letter in some confusion. Well, by all rights it really wasn't even a letter, just a note with a single, sinister line of text.

"Don't let him go," he repeated, completely mystified.

"Shin-chan! Good morning!"

Shinichi grunted as Kaito wrapped his arms around him from behind and proceeded to squeeze all the air from his lungs.

"What a surprise. You're up _before_ me!"

"Says the person who came home at four in the morning," Shinichi snorted, turning his head so he could catch a glimpse of his partner over his shoulder. "What the hell were you doing out at four in the morning?"

The magician chuckled. "I want my next performance to happen at dawn so I had to check some things out."

"And people are going to want to get up to watch this show at the crack of dawn?"

"Of course. I've got adoring fans who will travel the globe to watch my shows. Getting up a bit earlier—or staying up a bit later as it might turn out—is just part of the fun."

"Right, your crazy, obsessed fans. How could I have forgotten about those?"

"I'm sure you try your best."

Sighing, Shinichi relaxed against him and returned his attention to the letter in his hands. He wasn't sure why but something about it just wouldn't stop bothering him. Maybe because it didn't have a sender's address or even a name?

"What's that?" Kaito asked curiously, following the direction of his gaze.

"Don't know," Shinichi replied, turning it over once more to make sure he hadn't missed anything. "A warning, I guess, and it's addressed to me. But I have no idea who sent it or why."

Kaito plucked the letter from his grasp and glanced at it. For a moment, his face went completely blank. Then he dropped the parchment back onto the table. "Akako strikes again, I see. Wonder what she's up to this time."

"Akako?"

"Yeah, I told you about her. The witch Aoko's been hanging out with a lot lately. God forbid she actually comes along next time we all have a friendly get together." He gave an exaggerated shudder then shrugged. "Don't worry about it. She says a lot of strange things, but I've never let that interfere with my plans. Probably 'cause it's pretty much impossible to tell when she means to help or hurt. Anyways, breakfast is getting cold."

"I suppose." Shinichi stared at the letter uncertainly for a moment longer then shrugged as well and joined Kaito at the kitchen counter. They had to hurry if they didn't want to be late for work, and Megure had mentioned something about an important new assignment.

.

…And then four days later, Kuroba Kaito had disappeared.

At first, Shinichi hadn't been worried. He was expecting Kaito to be gone for awhile, escorting the strange painting to its final destination. And after all, Kaito was more than capable of taking care of himself. He'd been one of the most famous and wanted thieves worldwide for nearly five years and gotten away with it, and it hadn't just been because he tended to be lucky. Luck could only take you so far in any business. But when the magician continued to fail to call or return home, he began to grow concerned.

And so it was that he found himself sitting at a restaurant table waiting to talk to—and he still found it hard to believe he was saying this—a witch.

Akako, what had Kaito told him about her? That she'd saved his life a few times and tried to kill him a few other times—not the most reassuring review to be sure, though he'd said it all so casually at the time that it had taken a minute or two for the severity of his words to sink in. The new information had been kind of upsetting, but the magician assured him that he and the witch had "gotten over it", whatever that was supposed to mean and warned him in general to stay away from her if he could.

Still, it wasn't like he had much of a choice here. The more he'd reviewed the details of the case leading up to the painting's removal and Kaito's errand, the more that general sense of wrongness had increased.

He didn't have to wait long as the restaurant door chimed the arrival of two young woman—one that he recognized as Aoko Nakamouri. That meant that her companion could only be—

"Koizumi Akako?"

The woman brushed her long, crimson hair behind her ear and offered him a veiled smile. "Kudou Shinichi. I've heard a lot about you."

No doubt, Shinichi thought uneasily as the two women sat down across from him. He was in the papers a lot, though somehow, he didn't think that was what Akako was talking about.

"Did you send me this?" he asked, cutting straight to the point as he placed the letter with its single line of warning written in scarlet ink upon the table.

Akako barely glanced at the note, placing her order with a waitress before turning her hooded gaze upon him. "But Kuroba went anyway."

Shinichi frowned. "What do you mean? What happened? Do you know where he is?"

"Yes and no."

Aoko glanced curiously from the detective to the witch then back again. "Is something wrong? What happened to Kaito?"

"Nothing we can do much about I'm afraid, my dear," Akako said, clucking her tongue in mild disapproval. "It seems our magician friend has gotten himself caught up in another legend. Works of art do have amazing power, after all, and that one… Wickedness comes in many forms, doesn't it, detective?"

Shinichi narrowed his eyes, a strange chill racing down his spine. "What are you talking about?"

"The painting. I thought that was obvious. You've all been looking for the wrong culprit."

"You know who killed those people, the ones who were after the painting?"

The witch took her time to answer, tapping her fingers lightly against the delicate glass stem of her cup. "Tell me, how did they die?"

"Suffocation," Shinichi recalled, bringing the reports he'd practically memorized over the past few days to mind. "Though we were unable to determine exactly how it was done. There were no signs of strangulation or any toxic chemicals in their system."

"What if I told you they were drowned?"

"But that's impossible. We would have found—"

"Signs?" Akako favored her glass with a thin, half amused smile. "But there wouldn't have been. Magic doesn't leave those kinds of marks."

His frown deepened. "What are you saying? Where's Kaito?"

"I'm saying that the killer you've all been looking for was right before your eyes all along—on that canvas. As for Kuroba, I'm sorry but I can't tell you where he is. I've tried to find out, but for some reason…" She shrugged, examining her fingernails and not looking at him. "I can, however, tell you that the painting he was supposed to steal took him away."

Shinichi couldn't believe he was having this conversation. "It took him away? Where?"

A cryptic smile curled the witch's red painted lips, "To another world."

.

Kaito groaned and sat up. Ugh, he didn't quite feel like he'd been run over by a truck, but maybe a good sized motorcycle fitted with a couple extra passengers and maybe armor plating.

A noise caught his attention and he went abruptly still out of instinct, listening. It came again—footsteps, he was sure of it, distant but getting closer. Years of thieving experience chose that moment to kick in full force, forcing him to his feet. A quick glance around told him that he was in a very large room. The lights were off but he could still pick out what seemed to be several glass display cases and a few paintings lining the walls. An art gallery? Never mind the details now, he had to find somewhere to hide. Wherever he was and however he had gotten there, something told him he had missed visiting hours.

Moving as silently as a ghost, he hid himself in the shadows behind one of the displays, blanking his thoughts and slowing his breathing. Moments later, the door of the art gallery swung open and a security guard stood framed in the lit doorway, casting a long shadow into the room. He peered suspiciously around the room for several moments then shook his head as though to clear it before shutting the door again.

Kaito let himself relax as the footsteps faded away.

What happened? This place seemed like an art museum, but he didn't recognize it and certainly couldn't remember how he'd ended up sprawled across its floor. It unnerved him just a little to realize that he couldn't remember.

Okay, no need to panic. He'd been in weird situations before; it came with his ex-business. He just had to calm down and retrace his steps.

He and Shinichi had arrived at the police station to report in for work that morning a couple days ago, and for the details of Inspector Megure's so-called "special" new assignment. To escort an old and valuable piece of artwork to a secure location without being noticed.

A piece of artwork said to contain the key to some hidden treasure.

A piece of artwork which someone had already killed for.

The painting.

The moment he'd laid eyes on it, Kaito had disliked every stroke of paint upon the canvas. It hadn't been particularly hideous or even all that unusual—just the image of a young woman standing on the edge of a lake with water so blue it reminded him of sapphires, and he had seen some _vey_ high quality sapphires in his time. In fact, from an aesthetic standpoint, it had been a very beautiful painting. But something about it had just rubbed him the wrong way, the odd stillness of the water perhaps or the expression on her face—turned just enough away so that you couldn't quite make it out. Somehow…somehow, he got the feeling that he wouldn't like the way she smiled.

But he digressed. What had happened after that? He'd gotten the painting easily and left the house, choosing a route different from the one everyone else thought he'd be taking—because of course, a good thief never really gave away his secrets—and he'd almost reached his destination when…when what?

Then something unexpected had happened, something like suddenly walking into a dream. Because he'd dropped from a rooftop into an alleyway only to turn and see her—the same woman who stood in the painting, he was sure of it—standing at the mouth of the alley with her back to him. And she had turned and smiled at him, and everything went dark.

He'd been right. He hadn't liked that smile one bit.

So then the question was, where was he now? Had she…had the _painting_ somehow brought him here?

Hmm, somehow, he felt like he should be more shocked by this. But he was still riding high on adrenaline. He was in a museum at night after hours where he wasn't supposed to be. Yes, he'd definitely missed this. In any case, first thing was first. He had to get out of here and figure out what the hell was going on so he could find a way back to some place he recognized and home.

Stealing out into the open air with the ease and silence of the phantom thief he had once called himself, Kaito made his way up to the roof of one of the museum's towers. But instead of skyscrapers and blazing streetlights above streets bustling with cars and people, the city that lay spread out before him seemed to take after an older style, like a scene out of a European fairytale. The architecture sort of reminded him of Italy, but at the same time it felt off somehow, different. And then there was the fact that the security guards he'd passed on the way up had been speaking Japanese.

Shaking his head, Kaito dug his phone out of his pocket and flipped it open. It wasn't like he'd been to every place on Earth. Of course there were going to be cities he didn't recognize. And if it was a little more picturesque than he thought still existed, that was something to be enjoyed and not bothered by... Right?

"_The number you have dialed is not in service. Please try again." _

Kaito frowned, Well, that was odd. His phone should have worked from anywhere in the world. Unless something had happened to Shinichi's phone? Still, that should have taken him to voicemail or something. Giving his head a slight shake, he canceled the call and tried again.

"_The number you have dialed is not in service. Please try again." _

Slowly, Kaito shut his cell phone and leaned back against the wall, staring blankly at the cityscape stretching out below. None of the numbers in his phone were working. He couldn't reach Shinichi, couldn't reach Hakuba, couldn't reach his mother or Aoko or Hattori. He'd even given Nakamouri-keibu a try.

"You know," he said at last, addressing the empty air with false joviality, "somehow, I don't think I'm in Tokyo anymore."

An idea was beginning to form in the back of his mind, but Kaito tread around it with caution. Logically, it didn't seem possible. But then who was he to speak of impossibilities?

"I get the feeling this isn't even my world anymore."

"That's because it isn't."

The whisper carried with it an odd chill that clung to the formerly warm breeze and Kaito spun around, prepared to lunge or run as necessary. The sight that greeted him would have made his eyes widen if he hadn't had such thorough control over his expression. For standing just a few feet away from him was a woman dressed all in white with her silver hair falling in waves down her back—the same woman who had been in that accursed painting.

"Did you bring me here?" Kaito asked bluntly, not in the mood for games.

"And if we were?"

"Why?"

We? What did she mean by we?

Her inhuman, silver eyes flickered towards the city then back onto his face, abruptly intense with a strange mixture of hunger and wistfulness. "Because you have something we want."

Kaito snorted. Well of course, what had he expected? It was a typical enough reason for kidnapping someone, and he supposed that the fact that the kidnapper was a work of art made little difference. What he really wanted to know was how he could get back home.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me what it is you want?"

"We don't have to. All you have to be is here."

"You can't keep me here." At least Kaito hoped not; if there was a way in, there had to be a way out—he had to believe that.

As if she had read his mind, a strange smile twisted the woman's lips though the rest of her face remained unchanged, making her look slightly mad. "We'll see."

And then she was gone as soundlessly and as suddenly as she had appeared, leaving Kaito to grin humorlessly at the space where she had been. "Yes, I suppose we shall."

.

Another world…

Shinichi stared blankly at the item the witch had left upon the table for a long time after the women had left. He just couldn't seem to quite wrap his mind around the idea, but there was no denying that he'd been unable to track the magician down. And he was confident enough in his own skills and Kaito's ability to leave clues behind to know that there was something wrong with that. And then there were the strange circumstances of the murders to take into account.

The question for the moment then wasn't whether or not Kaito was in another world, or even what a murderous piece of artwork wanted with him—though Shinichi would really like to know. The question was, how was Shinichi going to get there and bring him back?

Hesitating for only a moment, Shinichi reached out and gingerly retrieved the pendant on its thin, silver chain. It was shaped into a severely styalized feather, its curving tip cradling a single crystal that seemed clear at first glance but exhibited traces of purple and blue if held up against the sunlight.

"_In a few days from now when the moon is full, put this on before you sleep,"_ the witch had said. _"If your desire to find your way is great enough, it will take you there. I'm sure Kuroba will make sure of that." _

Closing his fingers about the small, seemingly innocuous trinket, Shinichi stood and made his way out of the restaurant.

At least the witch had really seemed to know what she was talking about. And hopefully, Kaito would be all right until he got there.

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><p><strong>TBC… <strong>


	2. The Art of Performance

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

**WARNINGS: Shounan ai (boy/boy pairing), you have been warned **

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><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>II<strong>

**The Art of Performance**

Crimson eyes snapped open in the darkness of his room as the room's single occupant shot bolt upright in bed.

/_Daisuke, did you feel that?_/

The redhead frowned, turning to peer out the glass door of his balcony. "I think so, but what was it?"

In the back of his mind, he could feel Dark frown. /_I don't know, but I think we should check it out._/

"I guess we don't really have a choice. Whatever it was, it could be dangerous. Let's try to make this quick though, okay? I still have school tomorrow."

If someone had chanced to look through the balcony doors then, they would have seen a flicker in the darkness as short, messy, red hair darkened into violet and grew longer to frame an older, suddenly more angular face. Moments later, Phantom Thief Dark slipped onto the balcony and launched himself into the night sky on silent, black-feathered wings.

"Don't worry. This shouldn't take long."

Retracing the source of the disturbance, the thief soon found himself at one of the city's several art museums. Powerful magic had been at work here, he could feel it. What ever it had been, however, it was long gone now.

"Strange," he mused aloud, running his hand along the stone wall beside the door leading out onto the tower roof, "it feels new."

/_New?_/ Daisuke repeated, peering out through their shared eyes. /_What do you mean?_/

"Well, most really powerful artworks have quite long histories. You must have noticed by now. But this one, it feels—_young_, but also different somehow. I wonder what happened here. Hey, Daisuke, do you remember what exhibits are being shown in this museum right now?"

/_Well… There are those aquatic landscape paintings, the deity paintings that got donated to the museum last week, and that new fairytale exhibit._/

"Gods and fairytales, huh? Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen all right."

/_Why do you say that?_/

"Think about it. Gods and fairytales—all the concentration of people's beliefs and hopes and dreams, all mixed up and captured on canvas."

/_But those are all good things, aren't they?_/

"That would depend on the artist."

The redhead was silent for a moment longer, mulling this over. From experience, he had to agree. Even the best of dreams could be made into nightmares in the wrong hands. /_So what should we do?_/

"For the moment, nothing. Whatever was happening here, it's over now. Weren't you and Riku thinking about visiting this museum this weekend?"

Dark felt a ripple of embarrassment from his host at the mention of his girlfriend and grinned.

/_Stop laughing,_/ Daisuke protested, /_and yes, actually, we were._/

"Good. In that case, we can look into the paintings then—provided there aren't any other disturbances."

In the darkness of the gallery beneath his feet, the figure of a woman with flowing silver hair mostly obscuring her face almost seemed to glow against the canvas of her painting. Yes, she had hoped that he would come. The phantom thief was, after all, quite famous in the art world and she'd wanted a look at his abilities just in case. All the pieces were falling into place.

.

"Have you heard?" Saehara Takeshi, their resident aspiring reporter and Daisuke's longtime friend, slammed his hands down on the redhead's desk in uncontained excitement. "Our class has been selected to participate along with a few others in a new drama program in preparation for the summer arts festival!"

Struggling to stifle a yawn, Daisuke peered at the flyer pinned between Takeshi's palm and the tabletop. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Takeshi rolled his eyes. "Jeez, weren't you listening? They're replacing our last period classes with a drama class. We're going to have a new teacher and everything. He's supposed to be really good. I heard that when he showed up for his interview with the principal, he did some pretty crazy things."

"Crazy things? Like what?"

"Like making things appear out of nowhere, I bet."

The two boys turned as a girl with shoulder-length, light brown hair dropped into the chair next to Daisuke's. She propped her elbow on the desk and scowled.

"Miss Riku?" Daisuke asked, worried by the dark cloud over her face. He liked it better when she smiled.

"I think we met him on our way here," Riku said, jerking her head towards her sister who was staring a little dreamily out of the classroom window. "He gave Risa a rose, made it appear out of nowhere like magic."

"You didn't like him?"

Riku sighed. "No, it's not that. Actually, he acted like a real gentleman, really polite—asked us the way to school. It's just Risa... Why does she always have to be so fickle?"

She trailed off into grumbles, scowling at the back of her sister's head. Really, Risa worried her so much sometimes. It was like somewhere along the way, twins though they were, Riku had grown up and Risa hadn't. Really, still believing in fairytales and fantasies… Not, Riku amended to herself, glancing sidelong at Daisuke, she supposed that fairytales couldn't come true in a small way now and then. Still, that didn't mean you didn't have to face up to reality.

"Oh." Daisuke followed the direction of her gaze, increasingly curious about what the new teacher was going to be like.

.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Kaito glared at the silver-haired woman standing behind him in the mirror as he adjusted his coat. Why his new office even had such a large mirror, he had no idea. But then everything in this city seemed to have been constructed with aesthetics in mind. It reminded him of older cities, places with more history from back when everything was made by hand. As an ex-jewel thief, it would have been rather enjoyable if he hadn't been trapped there. As an ex-jewel thief, the word "trapped" was definitely way low down on his list of acceptable circumstances.

"Living—while I look for a way to get rid of you."

And get home.

"Get rid of me?" The woman arched a single, delicate eyebrow in open amusement. "A mere human would never be able to get rid of me."

"And yet you said yourself that you needed me," Kaito pointed out, a shark's grin flashing across his face before he schooled it once more into an expression suitable for a new school teacher. "I'm good at surprising people. You might even say that it's my job."

Ignoring the flicker of a scowl that crossed her face—which didn't mean he hadn't noticed—Kaito turned off the light and left his office, whistling cheerfully just to annoy her.

Time to meet his new students. Hmm, he wondered what Hakuba would say if he knew Kaito was going to be teaching anyone anything. The British detective would probably be quite horrified.

Smirking at the thought, Kaito made his entrance into the classroom in a flurry of white wings and silver glitter.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Kuroba Kaito and we're going to have a lot of fun for the next couple weeks."

With that said, Kaito proceeded to leave a completely unforgettable first impression. They had never met a teacher quite like him—loud, lively, lighthearted, and almost silly.

He started by ordering them all out of their chairs and shunting all the furniture to the sides of the room. And then it was time to begin the performance, because what better way to teach about performance than to perform while he was at it?

"I would like each of you to put something of yours on this table," Kaito announced, dragging a single desk into the middle of the room. "It can be anything—a spare article of clothing, jewelry, other accessories, a writing implement, a book—anything at all. Don't worry, you'll get everything back at the end of class."

After the students had complied, he glanced over the various objects and smiled. Hats, scarves, a watch, different books—not as eccentric a collection as he might have liked, but they would do. "Good, now this is what we're going to do. Stand in a circle everyone. We're going to go around and each time it's your turn, you have to pick one of these objects here and try to imagine a character that you think that object could belong to and walk around the circle once, moving in a way that exhibits that person. Call it a character study. Here, as an example, I'll go first."

Selecting a plain looking notebook from the pile, he let it fall open and hunched his shoulders a little, peering so closely at it his nose was almost brushing the page. Stooping, he began to shuffle around the circle, pausing now and then to squint at a student from beneath furrowed, suspicious brows then pretending to jot down notes with an invisible pencil. Amidst stifled giggles, he made a circuit of the room then straightened, placed the notebook back on the desk, and sauntered over to join the circle. Turning back to face the students, he nudged the girl standing to his right.

"Your turn!"

The girl—Riku as it turned out—hesitated then walked into the center of the circle and stared at the pile of miscellaneous things. Shrugging, she picked up a watch and slid it on. Then she proceeded to don an annoyed look—one she was well used to from waiting for Risa when she was dressing herself up for the day—and began her walk around the room, pausing to stamp her feet now and then, glowering at the watch and staring around as though searching for something or someone.

"That was pretty good," Kaito said encouragingly when she returned to stand beside him once more. "Next!"

.

When the bell signaling the end of school finally rang, everyone collected their things and headed out amidst a buzz of excited conversation and laughter.

Riku waited for Daisuke to finish repacking his bag and join her at the door before starting towards home.

"That was actually pretty fun," she mused. "Much more interesting than normal classes."

Daisuke smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, but it was so embarrassing."

"I thought you were pretty good."

"Really? I had no idea what I was doing."

Riku grinned. "Yeah, but you made everyone laugh. It means people enjoyed it."

"I suppose you're right."

His mother was in the living room when he got home, pouring over some old books and newspaper clippings. She seemed slightly preoccupied by something, but greeted him warmly nonetheless as he made his way towards the stairs up to his room.

"Welcome back, dear, how was your day?"

Daisuke paused with his hand on the railing. "Pretty good. We have a new teacher. He's running the new drama program."

"Really? What's he like?"

"Well," Daisuke said slowly, "He's…kind of unusual. But I think I like him."

.

By the time the weekend rolled around, everyone was ready for a break. Daisuke woke up bright and early and excited because he and a few classmates were going to the museum together today and Riku was going to be there. They had made plans to go out for lunch together afterwards, and Daisuke was still trying to figure out where they should go. He wanted to make it something special. They hadn't really had time to do anything fun together since that school outing when they'd discovered that they liked one another. It was a new kind of feeling, giddy but also peaceful and happy, and it made him smile every time he thought about it.

/_Don't forget that we're supposed to keep an eye out for anything strange at the museum too,_/ Dark's teasing voice echoed in his mind.

"I know," Daisuke assured him, pausing to gaze out the balcony door at the Harada mansion not too far away before hurtling downstairs. "Mom, I'm going out! Be back by dinner time."

"Okay, but don't forget—you have a heist tonight!"

"What?" Skidding to a halt just before he reached the front door, Daisuke jerked his head around towards his mother. "Since when?"

"We sent the notice to the newspapers this morning."

"But, _Mom_—!"

"No buts, dear, you know it's important for us to keep on top of things. And your grandfather's really worried about this one. You'll be stealing the Eye of Dreams from the Modera Art Museum."

"The Modera? But that's where we're going now."

"I know," she replied cheerfully, "so don't forget to check it out while you're there."

"I guess." Sighing in defeat, Daisuke grabbed his jacket and continued out the door. Of course he understood why they had to take these artworks—so they could seal away the potentially harmful power of them. But that didn't mean he enjoyed it. There were just times when he really wished he'd been born into a different family, one not full of thieves.

/_Hey, I wonder if I should feel insulted._/

"But you _like_ being a thief."

/_So?_/

"So it's different."

/_Because I know how to have fun._/

Daisuke would have protested, but they were interrupted by Saehara, who came rushing down the street towards him waving his camera. "Daisuke, you won't believe what I just saw!"

He stumbled to a halt beside his friend, hunched over to brace himself on his knees, panting for breath.

"Are you okay?"

Ignoring the question, Saehara brandished his camera under his nose. "I saw a swan fly over my house and it was bloody _huge_! It must have had a wing span of at least fourteen feet! That's almost twice as big as a normal swan. And get this—it had _silver wings_!"

"Are you sure you didn't imagine it?"

"Of course I'm sure! I even got some pictures. I'll prove it once I get them developed."

By the time they reached the plaza before the museum, it was midmorning and the streets were full of people intent on making the most of their two days of vacation before the week began once more.

"Miss Riku! Miss Harada!"

Riku looked up from the museum pamphlets in her hands and waved. "Hey! About time. You guys are late."

"We were starting to worry that you'd forgotten," Risa agreed, leaping to her feet from where she'd been sitting on one of the benches on the sides of the plaza. "Let's go! Oh, I hope it's not too crowded in there already."

"The exhibits aren't going to run away," Riku reminded her. "They're hosting these new artist galleries from now until the arts festival."

"So do you know which exhibits you want to see first?" Daisuke asked, joining them.

"The fairytale paintings!" Risa exclaimed without hesitation. "All the girls at school are talking about them."

"Yeah?"

"They're supposed to be pretty cool," Riku explained, falling into step beside him as they followed Risa up the museum steps. "Supposedly, the artist took a bunch of scenes from famous stories and painted them, but each one a little different. The most famous one is supposed to be this painting of Swan Lake."

"_I _heard that the paintings are haunted," Saehara cut in, always ready with the latest gossip as well as the latest news. "Did you know that the artist actually committed suicide? Her brother found her dead in her apartment when he went to visit her. Then a few days later, her paintings turned up at the museum."

Daisuke frowned, an odd tingle running down his spine as they stepped across the museum threshold. "Maybe her brother sent them? I mean, if they were his sister's last works or something, I bet he'd want people to see them."

"Maybe," Saehara said darkly, relishing the eeriness of the tale, "but that's not what everyone's saying."

"Well, people can be silly," Riku said firmly. "There's no such thing as ghosts."

"You're probably right," Daisuke laughed, though he couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy. He'd seen too many strange things not to believe in the possibility of ghosts.

"Hey!" The three of them jumped and looked around. Risa was already way ahead of them and was waving impatiently in their direction, pouting. "Are you three coming or not?"

They had almost made it to the fairytale exhibit when Daisuke spotted something that made him groan inwardly. It was a sign beside the wide, marble staircase leading to the museum's second floor, upon which he could read the words "Eye of Dreams". He _had_ promised his mother.

"Guys, I need to go check something out, okay? Be back in a minute. You can go on ahead."

And before any of his confused companions could say anything, he was away and up the stairs.

All the new exhibits were on the first floor so the second floor was significantly less crowded. Making his way silently and quickly through the various galleries, Daisuke scanned the various signs and labels until he came at last to a small room at the far end of a hall lined with bronze sculptures. The object of his next heist stood on a black velvet stand, a small statuette of burnished silver like an owl with its wings outspread to embrace a gleaming, deep violet stone. He could hear the rumble of people downstairs and the ringing of the bell tower in the distance tolling ten o' clock in the morning, but this room seemed almost surrealistically quiet.

"A _very_ beautiful amethyst, isn't it? Quite high quality."

And apparently, he wasn't as alone as he'd thought. Glancing around, Daisuke found himself looking up at the new teacher. That's odd, he hadn't even heard him walk up next to him.

"Kuroba-sensei?"

The young man smiled, nodding. "Yup, at least I was last time I checked. Niwa-kun, wasn't it? Are you here because of the heist notice too?"

Daisuke started nervously. "Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that."

"Hmm." Nodding absentmindedly, Kaito moved in a slow circle around the display case, examining it with keen, indigo eyes. "I was quite surprised when I saw the notice in the papers this morning. Phantom Thief Dark, huh? I take it he's quite well known around here? There were some other people here earlier too, reporters, fans, and the like."

"Yeah," Daisuke said, hoping he didn't look as uncomfortable as he felt. "I'm surprised you hadn't heard of him."

"I only just moved here a bit more than a week ago," Kaito replied with a shrug. "I've always been interested in these things though—thieves, detectives, that sort of thing. He's an art thief?"

At Daisuke's nodded, Kaito hummed thoughtfully to himself. "And yet none of the things he steals ever turn up on the black market or anything. I wonder why he steals. And what's so interesting about this particular work of art? The Eye of Dreams, said to make those who stare into it too long see illusions of their deepest desires… I wonder if it's true."

"If it is, should you really be looking at it so closely?" Daisuke asked, suddenly worried. If his grandfather was worried about this one, then the story about it was probably true.

The teacher laughed and straightened up. "I guess you're right. So, are you here by yourself?"

Riku's brow furrowed a little as she watched Daisuke go. She couldn't help but wonder where he was always rushing off to. Well really, she had her suspicions, but she didn't really like to dwell on them. She hadn't really made up her mind what she thought about them yet.

"Oh, Riku, look at this one!"

Risa grabbed her sister and pulled her over to one of the larger paintings set in an ornate, wooden frame. Stopping in front of it, the long-haired twin peered up at the artwork with awe. "Isn't it romantic?"

"It's just some woman sleeping," Riku pointed out, unimpressed.

"Well, yes, but isn't it beautiful with the moonlight coming through the window and everything? And there's that shadow on the balcony, like her prince is about to come in and wake her with a kiss!"

Risa's wild imagination never failed to amaze her. Though Riku had to admit that the artist had been quite talented and the painting was indeed very beautiful, she didn't like that shadow on the balcony. It made her feel strangely cold when she looked at it.

"Come on, let's go see what else there is," she said quickly, taking her sister's hand and marching away down the gallery.

Behind them upon the painted balcony, the shadow seemed to grow darker for just an instant. But it could have been just a trick of the light.

Back downstairs, Daisuke suddenly shivered. This feeling, it was just like that night. "Dark?"

/_Yeah, it's here all right. So the fairytale exhibit it is. Strange though, I can't seem to pinpoint which painting it's coming from._/

"You—you don't think they really _are_ haunted, do you?"

/…_I don't know, but it feels—different. There's definitely something up with these paintings. Perhaps we should talk with your father about this later_./

The redhead made a sound of agreement and hastened to look for his friends, hurrying right past the painting of a woman in white with barely a glance.

.

Dark chuckled, tucking the small statuette into a pouch for safe keeping on his way out of the museum. That had just been too easy, and it made him wonder when Satoshi would be back in town. By the time the police made it up here, he'd be long gone.

And yet…

When he got there, there was someone else on the roof.

"So you're Dark."

The man standing balanced upon the railing was dressed from head to toe in white—a white suit, white gloves, a white top hat, and even a snowy cape that billowed gently in the breeze.

Dark raised an eyebrow, his own smile firmly in place. "You know my name, but I'm afraid I have no idea who I'm addressing."

The man tugged his hat lower over his face and grinned, a flash of white beneath the glint of his monocle. "Back where I'm from, I'm fairly well known as a phantom thief too. As for a name… 1412 will do."

Dark raised an eyebrow at that. 1412? What kind of name was that? Some kind of code for something?

"Another phantom thief, huh? I can't say I've ever heard of you."

"I'm not surprised. You could say that I'm a long way from home."

"So what brings you here then?"

Down below, they could hear people shouting and the sound of police sirens, but it all sounded so far away.

The other thief shrugged, tucking his hands in his pockets as he glanced out across the city. "A question I suppose, about art and about magic."

Violet eyes narrowed, considering. "Sounds like you already know quite a lot."

"A confirmation then."

"Is that so? Well then, whatever your reasons are, I'd better warn you—the power of artwork shouldn't be tampered with. It causes a lot more grief than it could ever cure. If I were you, I'd keep my distance. And if you don't… Well, our paths may cross again sooner than you'd like."

"My reasons," the caped figure mused, sounding wistful. "Much as I'd like to heed your advice, I'm afraid I can't. My reasons are too important for me to just let them go because things are going to be risky."

"Even if it could cost you your life? Your sanity?"

"Is it worth that risk to find a way home? I'd say so. As for my sanity, most people who know me would probably tell you that I don't have any left to lose."

The two thieves stood for a moment in silence, regarding one another with equal parts wariness and curiosity.

Then Dark grinned and leapt up onto the railing beside him. "In that case, I'm sure we'll meet again. But for now, I have a bit of a schedule to keep."

And he was gone, falling away into the night only to catch himself on a pair of black feathered wings.

Kaito watched him go with a contemplative expression on his shadowed face. If it was an artwork that had gotten him here, perhaps a different artwork would send him back.

Perhaps it was time to slip back into the role he'd discarded back in his own world and introduce this city to a very different kind of phantom thief. The thought made his grin widen, and he found himself incredibly glad that he'd brought his KID gear with him on that escort mission—after all, one could never be too prepared, and KID had to be prepared for anything. And no matter what world he was in, he would never settle for being second best.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: Wow, the DNA characters are really hard to write. It's always so hard to tell who I'm going to have an easy time working with until I've started.

And for anyone who might be wondering, Shinichi will be arriving in the next chapter.


	3. A Meeting of Thieves and Detectives

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

**AN: **Someone asked me how old Kaito and Shinichi are in this story. Let's see. I was using the background from my other story "Countdown to Forever" as a springboard, so they should be around their early twenties.

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>III<strong>

**A Meeting of Thieves and Detectives**

The full moon…

Shinichi pulled the curtains closed over his window and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. This just felt weird, actually taking the advice of a witch. Still, if it worked…well, if it worked, he'd owe magic an apology.

Pushing his doubts to the back of his mind, Shinichi slid the feather pendant over his head, snagged a book from the bookshelf in the corner and got into bed. Reading, it didn't take too long before he fell asleep…

_Everything was dark, the kind of darkness you got in great distances like when you looked at the night sky and tried to reach for the spaces between the stars. Glancing down, Shinichi thought he could just make out what appeared to be the lights of Tokyo city, only dim and wavering as though seen through very deep water. _

_I must be dreaming, he thought, wondering a little at the odd clarity that seemed to cling to his senses despite that fact. If this was a dream, which he was ninety-nine percent sure it was, it was unlike any dream he'd ever had. _

_The touch of something cold against his wrist made him look down at his hands. Drifting about his fingers was a thin, silver chain he recognized as the one that had held the feather pendant Akako had given him. The pendant itself hung from a loop of chain around his wrist, the crystal ablaze with silver-white light. What had the witch said? If your desire to find your way is great enough, it will take you there. She'd also said something about Kaito helping to make sure of that, but that part didn't make any sense. _

_There—he didn't know where "there" was, only that it was wherever Kaito happened to be. So, pulling up a recent memory of the magician grinning at him that morning at the breakfast table, Shinichi closed his eyes and concentrated. He felt a little ridiculous, but when he opened his eyes, there it was—a long, silver chain stretching away from the pendant out into the void like a guiding line of shining, silver thread. _

_Hesitating for only a moment, Shinichi followed. Kaito was going to have a field day when Shinichi told him about this. But for that to happen, he had to find him first. _

…Sapphire eyes snapped open, blinked, and stared in a mixture of confusion, shock, and amazement. Turning in a slow circle, Shinichi pinched himself to make sure that he wasn't still dreaming.

He was standing in what appeared to be a park with lush, green grass and well-kept trees above which he could make out a clock tower in the distance. He couldn't see the clock hands from where he was, but judging from the color of the sky, he guessed it was late evening.

The architecture definitely looked foreign and he could believe he really was in a different world, but was it the right world? If there could be one, reason dictated that there could be others too. Only one way to find out. Squaring his shoulders, Shinichi turned his feet towards the street, intent on finding some form of police station. Whatever world he was on, it was the place he knew his way around the best and also his best bet at gaining access to the resources necessary to track someone like Kaito down.

Shinichi had barely gone ten steps, however, before he heard someone scream in terror. Cursing his almost perpetual bad luck, he spun and raced towards the cry, hoping desperately that no one had yet been killed. It would be just like his skewed fortunes for someone to get murdered the moment he set foot in this place.

The first thing Shinichi saw when he broke through the trees was the woman sprawled upon the ground. The second thing he saw was the giant serpent, its semitransparent coils almost filling the entire clearing. The third thing he saw was the young man hovering above the serpent's weaving head on a pair of jet black wings.

Shinichi stared even as his body carried him over to the unconscious woman and dropped him onto his knees to check for a pulse. It was weak but there and he breathed a sigh of relief before focusing all of his attention on the bizarre scene before him.

The snake hissed and snapped violently at the winged figure, who slid easily away from its impressive teeth and threw something that looked like a black feather towards its head. The feather flashed upon contact and the beast reared back, but it seemed more enraged than hurt.

Assured that the woman wasn't seriously hurt, Shinichi cast around for some way to help in the fight. He wasn't sure if a soccer ball would do much against a serpent the size of a house, but he had to try.

.

Daisuke had been halfway through his homework when he felt the chill race down his spine. His pencil stopped and he jerked his head around to stare out the balcony door.

/_Daisuke, we've got to go. Now,_/ Dark said urgently.

Daisuke nodded, already out of his chair and through the balcony doors. Someone was in trouble. He could feel the magic in the air, tingling and alien and _menacing_. Dark took over as he jumped onto the railing and they were gliding high over the city, searching.

It didn't take long to find what they were looking for.

"Hey," Dark called, dropping down into the park clearing and raising his hand in preparation for an attack, "whatever you are, let her go."

The man—or what appeared to be a man—turned towards them and Daisuke gasped. Long, needle-like fangs gleamed in the man's mouth and the eyes that fixed upon them had never belonged to a human being. A forked tongue flicked out to taste the air and he let go of his victim to face them. The woman's glazed eyes cleared and she screamed, only to be cut short as the creature's clawed hand struck quick as lightning at her throat. There was no blood, but a strand of what looked like glowing mist came away with his fingers and the woman's eyes rolled back in her head as she collapsed. Still with its eyes fixed on the newcomer, the man brought the mist to its mouth and it vanished with another flicker of his inhuman tongue.

/_What did he do to her?_/ Daisuke demanded, panicking. /_We've got to help her!_/

"Calm down, Daisuke. She's not dead, just exhausted." Dark lifted the black feather in his hand a bit higher, his gaze never leaving the man's slitted pupils. "I guess it'd be pretty pointless to ask who sent you. You don't even really understand what I'm saying, do you?"

Hungry eyes continued to stare at him, unblinking, as a forked tongue flicked from between elongated fangs. And then suddenly, it wasn't even remotely humanoid anymore. Instead, a massive, semitransparent serpent loomed over him, its coils shifting with deceptive laziness about the clearing for just a moment before it lunged.

Dark threw himself back into the air as the huge jaws slammed shut with enough force to splinter the tree that had been behind him.

Righting himself, the thief threw the feather only to curse and backpedal hurriedly when the monster twisted smoothly out of the way and snapped its head back around to have another go.

"Damn," Dark muttered as his next attack fizzled out upon the translucent green scales of the serpent's snout, "this thing might not be very smart but it sure is powerful. Hold on, Daisuke."

However, before Dark could move in for another attack, something round and colored in patches of black and white went whizzing past his head and struck the snake squarely between the eyes.

"What the—"

/_Was that a soccer ball?_/

More surprised than hurt, the serpent swiveled its head around to fix its unblinking, yellow stare upon the source of this new assault. It took it about a millisecond to register the black-haired young man readying yet another projectile beneath his foot and another millisecond for it to decide that it was quite angry about this. Then it had whipped its sinuous body away from Dark and struck at its ground-bound attacker.

Shinichi barely had time to throw himself backwards out of the way, and even so, one of its fangs tore through his jacket sleeve. Strangely enough, it didn't hurt. Confused, the detective blinked and stared down at the gash in his arm, which was glowing an unnatural bright green. Then everything faded out of focus and went black.

Dark dove forward to place himself between the serpent and the two humans now both out cold, but instead of attacking, the serpent froze mid hiss and then slowly drew back. It went completely still as though listening to something only it could hear, then it withdrew even further and faded like a ghost until nothing remained but the reminder of a last, soft hiss.

Dark lowered his arm, frowning. The creature was just _gone_—no trail, no lingering magical signature—nothing.

Giving his head a firm shake—he had more pressing matters to worry about at the moment—he landed beside the two unconscious figures, crouching to check on them.

/_Are they going to be all right?_/ Daisuke asked anxiously.

"She'll be fine after she gets some sleep," Dark answered, leaning over the young man to examine his arm. "But I think we should get this one back to your house. It looks like that snake might have been venomous."

/_Where did it come from?_/ And even more importantly, where had it gone?

"My guess is one of those paintings in the fairytale exhibit. It feels a lot like that other disturbance, but also a little different—less concentrated."

/_You mean all those paintings are dangerous?_/ Daisuke asked, horrified.

"I don't know, but something's definitely up and it's unlike anything we've ever faced before."

.

Shinichi groaned, rolling onto his side and trying to sit up.

"Oh, you're awake!"

Someone put a hand on his shoulder to help steady him and Shinichi forced his eyes open to find himself staring at a woman with short, pale brown hair. She smiled when she noticed him watching her and offered him a cup of water.

"How are you feeling? You've been out for a long time. We were starting to worry."

And yet he still felt so tired.

Shaking his head, he took a sip of the water and cleared his throat. "What happened? That snake—"

"No need for you to worry about it, dear. Everything's going to be just fine."

Shinichi stared at her in disbelief. She made it sound as though giant, phantom snakes attacked people everyday. Granted, he was supposed to be in a different world. Maybe here it _did_ happen every day—in which case, he had better hurry up, find Kaito, and get out of there. Unlike that winged man, they weren't equipped to deal with such things.

Catching his incredulity, the woman laughed. "I wouldn't say it happens often, but whenever strange things do happen, Dark always appears to take care of it."

"Dark?"

"You've never heard of Dark?" she asked, astonished and seemingly almost horrified. "He's an amazing and handsome phantom thief who steals precious artworks and protects people from their enchantments. You must not be from around here if you've never heard of him."

Shinichi choked on the water and set the glass down, coughing to clear his airway. Now why did some of that story sound so familiar? So this world had its own phantom thief too. Well, that was certainly…interesting.

"Are you okay?" his host asked, concerned.

"Er, yeah, I'm fine. So how did I get here?"

"My son found you in the park, and since our house was closer than the hospital and you didn't seem to be hurt too badly," she shrugged, moving to open the window and let in some fresh air. The sun hung high in the sky outside. It was probably shortly before noon. "Now that you're awake, I suppose you'll want to get home."

Shinichi frowned at this unintentional reminder of his current position. "I actually only just got into town so I don't have a place to stay yet."

"Really? Well, in that case, you're welcome to stay here for as long as you like."

She sounded almost relieved and Shinichi wondered why. Perhaps the serpent attack had left more of an impression than he'd thought? He couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious at her generosity, but everything about her warmth seemed genuine and he really wasn't in any position to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Um, if it's not too troublesome, that would be great. Thank you—for everything."

"It's no trouble at all. We have the room and it's always nice to have company. Oh, how silly of me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Emiko, Niwa Emiko."

Shinichi accepted the hand she held out and shook it firmly. "Kudou Shinichi. And thank you again for your hospitality, Niwa-san. I'll just stay for as long as it takes me to find a place of my own."

"Emiko is fine, dear, and I already told you that it's no problem at all!"

By the time Daisuke returned home, the Niwas' newest houseguest was nowhere to be found.

Popping his head into the kitchen where his mother was humming over a pot of something sizzling and steaming, Daisuke asked curiously, "He left?"

"He said he was going to look for a job. His name is Kudou Shinichi and he's new around here. He woke up this morning."

"Is he all right?"

The entire family had been wondering about this since they'd gotten the young man home. His grandfather had checked over the wound left by the snake's fang but it seemed only to be a substance meant to drain a person's energy, nothing a good rest shouldn't have been able to cure. Still, two days of continued unconsciousness had had them questioning the diagnosis, so it was definitely a relief to have the stranger up and about at last.

"I offered to let him stay with us," Emiko continued, stirring the pot and scooping up just a bit in her ladle to test it. "He seems like a very nice young man."

"I'm glad he's all right, but is that really a good idea?" Daisuke wondered aloud, thinking about their family's somewhat less than legal nighttime trade.

"I'm sure everything will be fine. You've just got to be a bit more careful." His mother turned to give him a beaming smile. "It'll be good training."

.

Inspector Saehara glowered across his desk at the young man seated on its other side. He looked barely out of his teens and yet his track record was more impressive than any other detective he'd ever met. And as far as he could tell, all his papers were legitimate.

"So tell me again, why are you suddenly so interested in transferring to our department? It seems like you were doing damned well where you were."

"I'm looking for a friend of mine," Shinichi repeated for what felt like the tenth time during the interview, already tired of trying to explain himself to this man. "He disappeared from home several days ago and the clues brought me here. I was hoping to continue my detective work here while I continue my search."

The inspector scowled, but there really was nothing he could say to that. It was reasonable, undeniably so. And with the most recent development on the thieving front, _he_ would be the unreasonable one to turn him down just because something about the brat seemed fishy—and he reminded him a bit too much of a certain other, blue-haired brat that was also too young to be in this line of work.

"Fine, you're hired, but you'll be on a trial period until we can be sure of your skills."

"Fair enough," Shinichi agreed, glad to just be out of there. An entire hour in that stuffy office with its ill-tempered occupant was enough to try even his patience. It was times like these that he really missed Kaito's ability to derive entertainment value from even the most uncooperative of situations.

The inspector grunted. "Report to Detective Ishikawa Kenji. You'll start work immediately."

Nodding politely, Shinichi stood and excused himself. If he remembered correctly, Ishikawa Kenji was the man who had showed him to the inspector's office.

The other detective looked up when Shinichi knocked on his doorframe to let him know he had company. "Ah, so he accepted your application. I hope he didn't give you a hard time. It's the business with this new phantom thief. It's got him all strung up and he's already been complaining about being forced to increase the size of his taskforce by the chief."

Shinichi started in surprise. Could it be? "Another phantom thief, you said. You mean other than Dark?"

"Yeah, you haven't seen the papers from this morning? It's a new guy calling himself 1412."

"What did you say?"

"1412? Weird name, I know. Kind of like his heist notice."

Relief swept through Shinichi like a tidal wave. He hadn't even realized how anxious he really was until the anxiety had gone. That had to be Kaito; it was too much of a coincidence. He had no idea why Kaito was stealing again, but it was sure going to make him a lot easier to find. It looked like the police station had been the right choice after all.

"Pretty strange name," Shinichi agreed casually, grinning despite himself. "So, do you think I could get a look at the heist notice? Maybe I can help."

.

"Another phantom thief?" Hiwatari Satoshi frowned down at the reports on his desk. One phantom thief had been bad enough, but two? And where had the second one come from all of a sudden? It didn't seem like the usual copycat. For one thing, the name was different. And then there was the heist notice that had arrived early that morning which seemed more like some weird riddle.

It just figured that he'd be gone for a few days and everything went haywire.

What was this new thief playing at?

The ringing of the phone interrupted his thoughts and he snatched it up. "What is it?"

"Ah, Commander Hiwatari, we think we know what the new thief's going to be after. And, er…"

"Yes?" Satoshi said impatiently.

"And the heist is going to be tomorrow night."

.

"I can't believe someone is going around calling themselves a phantom thief," Emiko fumed, slamming the newspaper down on the table, already crinkled and torn from an entire day of brutal treatment. "Daisuke! You've got to go out there and see what's going on."

Daisuke winced, rubbing at his ear and hoping he wouldn't go deaf. He wondered nervously if he should tell his mother than he and Dark had already met the new thief.

/_Now might not be the best time,_/ Dark advised. /_Just agree. I wanted to check out his heist anyway._/

"All right, we'll go," Daisuke sighed, resigning himself to spending the next few hours cramming as he wouldn't have time for homework or studying tomorrow. "So when and where is it?"

"I don't know."

"Huh?"

"The notice doesn't make any sense."

The newspaper was shoved in front of him and Daisuke blinked a little dubiously at it. By now, the article was so crumpled he could barely even make out the words. He was saved from having to point this out when a knock came at the door. He opened it to find their new houseguest looking well and rather pleased about something.

"Oh, hi," Shinichi greeted him. "You must be Daisuke. I have to thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome. I'm glad you're feeling better."

"So am I." Glancing into the kitchen where Emiko was still grumbling irately to herself, Shinichi turned back to Daisuke. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, Mom's just a bit upset about there being someone else using the title phantom thief," Daisuke explained a little sheepishly. "So did you find a job?"

"As a matter of fact, I did. But then, I already knew what I was looking for and my record is pretty good."

"That's good. So where are you working?"

"At the police station. I'm a detective."

.

None of the citizens of the not-always-so-quiet city from its everyday high school students to its resident thief knew quite what to expect as the time for Phantom Thief 1412's first local heist finally arrived. But to say they were completely blown away nonetheless would have been more or less an adequate description of the result.

It started with the fireworks, brilliant streamers of rainbow colors that spelled out a message of welcome in brilliant, lingering letters across the velvet black sky. The magician thief himself appeared in smoke and fire upon a window ledge on the second floor of the building right above the heads of the police, whereupon he swept them an elaborate bow, called out a mocking greeting, and vanished once more in a swirl of moon white cape.

For several moments, none of the police knew how to react. Whoever heard of a thief who dressed in white and went to so much trouble to purposely call attention to himself? Was the man insane?

There was one person among them, however, who seemed completely unsurprised. Satoshi frowned at the new detective—Kudou, wasn't it?. Even as everyone shouted and hurried to get up to the room with the painting declared as that night's heist target, the newcomer waited until the rush had passed before moving quickly in a different direction—towards the narrow staircase that led directly up to the roof of the museum's highest tower. From the direction the others had gone, Satoshi heard a sudden eruption of startled and dismayed cries. Raising his eyebrows, Satoshi wondered briefly what had happened before making his decision and following Kudou.

When Kaito had set his plans into motion that evening, he'd expected to enjoy himself. It had been months since he'd last been on a heist, having officially retired as KID in his own world after finding Pandora and securing Snake a permanent home behind prison bars. He'd missed it. He couldn't help it. And now that he was "back", he had fully intended to capitalize on the fact.

But… Well, it just wasn't the same. Sure, he had fun. But it also emphasized the fact that he was no longer at home in ways that nothing else could have. The entire operation was almost too easy, and he'd find himself wondering what Shinichi would have done or Hakuba or even Nakamouri-keibu.

No point getting all depressed, he reminded himself sternly, his KID grin never wavering as he stepped out onto the roof into the refreshing, night air. The whole point of this heist was to start him on the search for a way home. Since it was the painting of that dreadful woman that had brought him here, maybe a painting that bore a cityscape remarkably similar to Tokyo would bring him back.

"The roof, huh? Do you have a pair of wings stashed away somewhere too?"

Unsurprised that the owner of that voice should choose to visit on this particular occasion, Kaito tilted his hat in the other thief's direction. "You could say that—among other things. Are you here to enjoy the show?"

"Maybe," Dark shrugged, glancing pointedly towards the tower door. "I have a few questions for you too, but now's probably not the time."

Kaito shrugged, swinging himself over the railing to balance upon the ledge on its other side, preparing to make his usual dramatic exit. But when the door opened, the person who came through it had him stopping dead in his tracks.

"KID, leaving so soon?"

Kaito froze and turned slowly to stare at the new speaker. That voice, the name which no one in this world should know yet—it couldn't be! And yet, "T—Tantei-kun?"

Shinichi hid his grin, choosing instead to raise an eyebrow. "It's been months since you last called me that. You feeling all right?"

"Shin-chan!" Abandoning all pretenses at composure, Kaito vaulted back over the roof railing and proceeded to squeeze all the air from Shinichi's lungs with a bone-crushing hug. "I missed you!" _I was afraid I would never see you again. _

He was so happy he could have cried, but he didn't because master thieves didn't cry while clutching onto detectives like they never wanted to let go.

Shinichi allowed himself to melt into the embrace for a moment before tugging urgently at his partner's shoulder. "Kai—air—breathe."

Kaito loosened his grip with some reluctance but kept his arms around him like he was afraid Shinichi would disappear the moment he looked away.

"You two know each other?" Dark asked, surprised and incredulous. Hadn't Kudou told Daisuke that he was a detective? Daisuke had been freaking out about their houseguest's career aspirations ever since he'd told them about it—and had still been freaking out about it in the back of their shared mind until a few minutes ago when he too had been shocked into silence. Because there he was, detective or not, standing without protest in the arms of a declared thief. Violet eyes surveyed them once more, not quite able to comprehend what he was seeing. The two were obviously _very_ familiar with one another.

"Ah, I almost forgot—Shin-chan, meet Dark. It turns out this world has a phantom thief too, and that's him. Dark-san, meet my detective."

"Your detective?"

"Yup, best detective in the world," Kaito assured him happily and with—at least to Dark—a decidedly odd amount of pride, "and the person who came closest to ever catching me. Never actually managed it though, of course."

Shinichi snorted, but he had more important things to discuss at the moment. "I assume you have a good reason for un-retiring? You know I don't approve, even if you _are_ mostly harmless." With an emphasis on the _mostly_.

"Of course I do. I'll tell you all about it when we have more time." Leaning in close, Kaito added in a murmur only Shinichi could hear, "We have company. See you later, okay?"

The detective gave a very slight nod and Kaito let go of him and spun, running the few steps back to the railing and using it to launch himself into the air.

Suddenly remembering Kaito's purpose for being at the museum in the first place, Shinichi ran to the railing and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Oi, KID, I expect that painting to be back here by next week!"

"No worries," the thief called back, veering skyward. "It'll most likely be back by tomorrow night!"

Or at most the day after.

That probably meant he was going to be checking the painting for something. Shinichi wondered what it was—a way home?—obviously something that took more time than checking gemstones in moonlight for Pandora.

Still standing in the shadows of the wall behind them, Dark shook his head. "I'd really like to know what the hell is going on here."

"For once, we agree on something then."

Satoshi stepped from the shadows of the doorway, a look of indifference masking his confusion.

Shinichi coughed, mind racing. What would Kaito do in this situation? Kaito was good at awkward situations. Damn, what was he thinking flying off and leaving him here anyway? If he'd just taken Shinichi with him, he wouldn't be in this mess. Then again, if he'd taken Shinichi with him, Shinichi would have other problems when he tried to go back to work tomorrow morning.

He finally settled on just telling them the truth. He'd long since learned that the truth wasn't always all it was cracked up to be, but he still believed it was inherently the best policy. "What would you say if I told you that we're not from your world?"

Silence greeted this question as the two other people on the roof gave it serious consideration. It just went to show that magic in this world wasn't such an unusual thing.

"It would explain a lot," Dark said finally.

Satoshi pushed his glasses further up his nose and sighed. "Would this have something to do with the recent disturbances around the city?"

"I don't know," Shinichi admitted, "though my partner might."

"You mean the new phantom thief." Satoshi raised an eyebrow. "What did you call him again?"

"KID," Shinichi explained. "It's a play on the number 1412 and the English alphabet."

"Interesting," Dark mused. He'd thought so before but the new thief really was something else. "So I guess we should resume this conversation when he's available."

He and Shinichi looked at the blue-haired detective. Satoshi frowned.

"He'll return the painting?"

Shinichi nodded without hesitation. "He always returns what he steals. You could say it's one of his trademarks."

"Fine. Then I won't try to arrest him. I want to know what's going on." And he had a feeling that whatever it was, it was serious.

Shinichi breathed a sigh of relief. "All right then."

Dark stepped onto the railing and summoned his wings. "So, where to?"

"Anywhere really. He'll find us." It would be easy with the tracking device Kaito had slipped into his pocket.

The thief shrugged. He and Daisuke had been carrying on a hasty discussion and come to an agreement. "We'll reconvene at Daisuke's house then."

Shinichi blinked. "Niwa's?"

Dark just grinned and stepped off the roof.

Shinichi frowned after him in puzzlement, but quickly returned his attention to the matter at hand. "I guess we'd better go help the others first. Knowing KID, we'll probably have to spend some time ungluing them from the floor or something."

"…" _What? _

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: I personally think Kaito would be better than Dark too, as phantom thieves go, though I think I ended up going for a different kind of surprise.

Someone suggested bringing Shinichi over as Conan in the DNA world. I think it might have been interesting, but it was a lot easier for the plot I had in mind for him to stay as he was :)


	4. Mirror, Mirror

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>IV<strong>

**Mirror, Mirror**

Daisuke met Shinichi and Satoshi at the door with a nervous sort of smile. He'd already explained as much as he could to his parents and grandfather, so at least he could be sure they wouldn't be interrupted.

And ten minutes later, Shinichi knew why he wanted the space for his explanations.

"Let me get this straight," he said, still trying to wrap his mind around the idea even after having witnessed real magic firsthand several times upon arriving in this world. "You and Dark are different people, but you share the same body because your family carries something in your DNA that allows male members to transform into Dark when they think about the girl they like? And this all started with a curse laid upon both of your families"—he gestured towards Satoshi—"when a family of very talented artists tried to create some kind of living masterpiece?"

Daisuke nodded while the blue-haired teen scowled and looked away. He didn't seem to like talking about his family—either of them, adopted or blood.

"Right," Shinichi muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I suppose all that doesn't really matter at the moment. Kai, I know you're here, so please stop hiding and get out here so we can sort out this situation."

There was a puff of smoke and KID stood in the middle of the Niwa living room, grinning like a madman. "This house is _amazing_. There are secret compartments and traps everywhere! Kind of reminds me of home. Though I suppose considering what you've all just been discussing, it should come as no surprise."

Sweeping the three other occupants of the room a deep bow, the thief straightened and flourished his cloak. As the white fabric swirled dramatically through the air, it seemed to shift and vanish, leaving Kaito standing in ordinary, civilian clothes.

Daisuke gasped. "Kuroba-sensei?"

"Sensei," Shinichi repeated, frowning.

"I'm currently teaching theatre at their school," Kaito explained, settling himself on the couch next to Shinichi and draping an arm across his shoulders. "So where should we start?"

"The beginning is good," Satoshi said.

Kaito nodded slowly, his expression going blank. "The beginning, hmm? Well, I suppose it started when I was asked to help move a painting from the house of its late owner to a safer destination where it could be studied. You might have seen the painting in the museum the other day as part of the fairytale exhibit—I believe it was called Swan Lake. Next thing I knew, I was here." He gestured vaguely to indicate the house around them and the city beyond in general. "She—the painting?—told me that she needed me here for some reason."

"So that night Dark and I felt the disturbance, it must have been you arriving," Daisuke thought aloud. "But why would a painting want you here?"

Kaito shrugged. "I don't know. She wouldn't say."

Shinichi's brow furrowed. "Whatever her goal is, she must want it really badly. You see, we originally had to move the painting in our world because people were getting killed for it, or at least that's what we thought. But it turns out that it wasn't some greedy criminal who had been killing people in an attempt to obtain the painting. It was the painting that had been killing people. It must have wanted our attention so we would do what we did."

Everyone in the room tensed.

"It _killed_ people?" Daisuke squeaked, horrified.

"The fairytale exhibit," Satoshi muttered, his hands clenching and unclenching on his knees. "I thought there was something off about them."

"In any case," Kaito continued, "I decided to get a job, seeing as I'd be stuck here until I found a way to get back. And that was where un-retiring came in. See, in our world, I retired from being a thief awhile ago. But I figured that if an artwork brought me here, maybe the right artwork would send me home."

"And?"

Kaito's face darkened. "It won't work. I think it should, but She's blocking it somehow. She told me it wasn't powerful enough. Or more precisely, She's too powerful."

Satoshi narrowed his eyes. "She? You mean you talk?"

"She appears now and then—though other than the night she brought me here, mostly just in reflections and not very clear. Come to think of it, though, she's been getting clearer. Sometimes, it feels like she's only in the mirror because she chooses to be."

/_She's getting stronger,_/ Dark murmured, pondering. /_I wonder if that snake was her doing._/

"Hey, were there any snakes in the fairytale paintings?" Daisuke asked for the both of them.

Kaito considered this. He'd made sure to get a thorough look at every painting in that exhibit. "A snake? Yes, I think there was. It was this picture called Mirror, Mirror and the woman in it was sitting on a golden green throne carved like a serpent—though it had clawed feet. I was a bit confused by that."

"I wonder if it's the same snake that attacked Kudou-san."

"What?" Kaito jerked his head around to examine Shinichi with concern. "You were attacked?"

"Yeah, but I wasn't really hurt," Shinichi assured him. "It happened the night I got here."

"It was taking people's energy," Daisuke explained at Kaito's doubtful look. "It makes you really tired for awhile, but nothing more serious."

"Energy, huh?" Kaito scowled. "I wonder what for. Come to think of it, Shin-chan, how _did_ you get here?"

"Akako gave me a pendant," Shinichi told him, pulling the feather out from under his shirt—only upon closer inspection, it didn't look quite the same as it had before. "That's odd. The crystal used to be clear."

But now, in the light of the Niwa living room, it was an opaque, steely black.

"It looks like you exhausted its power," Satoshi observed. "Which probably means even restored, it won't be able to take both of you back."

There was a long silence as they each digested all the new information and tried to figure out where they stood in all of it. Then Kaito stood up and stretched.

"Well then, it seems there isn't much else we can do right now. We can't leave until She lets us go or we get rid of her. In the mean time, it's getting late. I suggest we continue this tomorrow after we've done some more research into these fairytale paintings of hers." Turning to Shinichi, he held out his hand. "You _are_ going to come stay with me, right?"

Accepting his hand, the detective let him pull him to his feet. "You have to ask? Of course I'm staying with you."

Kaito smiled brightly, not letting go of his hand while he glanced at Satoshi. "Come on, we'll walk you home."

The boy scowled. "I don't need anyone to walk me home."

"That may be, but it would be irresponsible of us to let kids your age go wandering around alone at night."

"This coming from a thief," Shinichi teased.

"But of course! You should know that I always look after the people I work with. And anyways, it's useless to argue with me. You should know that too."

And everyone else was doubtless going to learn.

The apartment Kaito had managed to find for himself was small but neatly furnished with a single bedroom, a living room-kitchen combo, and a narrow balcony—too narrow to really enjoy the outdoors from but perfect if you intended it as a sort of makeshift second door. Aside from the couch and a small table, the living room was bare of any real furniture, like one might expect of an apartment someone hoped not to be staying long in.

The moment the door was shut behind them, Kaito wrapped his arms around Shinichi from behind and leaned down to press a kiss to the side of his neck.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything," Shinichi said, closing his eyes and tilting his head back a bit, "but are you okay?"

Kaito had been unusually clingy all night even for him.

"Missed you."

"It's only been four days."

"Maybe for you. It's been four weeks over here."

An entire month wondering whether he'd ever see home again. No wonder he didn't want to let go of him.

"Four weeks, huh? I guess you must have a lot of stories to tell me then."

Kaito chuckled. "You have no idea. This city is one crazy place and I've been doing a lot of exploring." Mostly to keep his mind off of other things. "But stories can wait for tomorrow…"

.

Daisuke lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling, frowning as he went over everything that had happened that night. His life just seemed to get crazier every day.

"Can you believe it, Dark? Kuroba-sensei being a phantom thief too."

And what an eccentric sort of thief too. A magician he had called himself, and no wonder.

/_It _was_ a bit of a surprise. He seems…very different from how he acts during your classes._/

"He's quite a character all right. He and Kudou-san seem really close, don't they?"

Dark laughed. /_That's one way of putting it._/

"Huh?"

/_Come on, you can't tell me you didn't notice._/

"Notice what?"

The thief laughed again, though this time it was Daisuke he was laughing at. /_Never mind, just get some sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day._/

The redhead frowned. But it really was late and he was too tired to deal with Dark's cryptic remarks. Stowing all the questions and worries from earlier in the back of his mind, he pulled the blanket up about himself and turned onto his side. He wondered if Riku was still awake and what she'd thought of the heist. He'd have to call and ask her tomorrow.

And out in the waters of the bay, a dark shadow stirred beneath the waves.

It was almost eerie how easily they slid back into normal life, or what passed for normal for them at any rate. Perhaps it was a side effect of having gone through so much in their lives already, both as a famous detective solving murderers and hounded by a giant crime syndicate and a thief fighting that same syndicate while running from detectives in particular and law enforcement in general at the same time. If you could get used to that, really, you could get used to pretty much anything given enough time to sit back and think about it.

Theoretically anyway.

Shinichi moved about the kitchen the next morning familiarizing himself with where Kaito had put everything and making breakfast with a Sherlock Holmes novel propped up against the water pitcher. It appeared this world did share a lot of literature and history with their own and Kaito had picked up a copy of the book when he'd seen it in a bookstore on the way to school. He didn't particularly like the books himself, but they reminded him of Shinichi and so he'd read them anyway.

Smiling faintly, Shinichi scraped the scrambled eggs onto two plates and moved to the sink, only to pause when he caught sight of the reflection in the window above it. He could still hear the shower going and he was absolutely certain he and Kaito were the only people in the apartment, and yet the face staring back at him out of the glass wasn't one he recognized.

"Swan Lake, I assume," he said, carefully dropping the pan in the sink without taking his eyes off their uninvited guest.

Silver-white eyes glared at him, studying the lines of his face. "Who are you?"

"Kudou Shinichi. I'm a detective."

"I know _that_," she hissed, her glare intensifying. "But what are you doing _here_? You shouldn't have been able to come here. I made sure of it."

Her face darkened. "_He_ did this, didn't he? But no matter, he might have messed with my plans but he still won't be able to stop me. As long as he's here, no one will be able to get rid of me."

Shinichi raised his eyebrows. "Are you talking about Kaito?"

Instead of answering, the woman in the glass turned away, shooting one last, venomous look over her shoulder. "You two _won't_ be going home."

When Kaito arrived in the kitchen, it was to find Shinichi frowning absently at the window. "Good morning, love, you okay?"

Blinking, Shinichi shook his head and offered him a plate. "Fine, but I definitely see why you don't like that woman."

The magician glanced at the reflections upon the glass. "She was here?"

"Yeah, and she wasn't happy to see me."

Kaito just grinned, leaning forward to brush a kiss across his lips. "Well, whatever she doesn't like is definitely a good thing. I was thinking I'd walk with you to work today since my class doesn't start until after noon."

"For a thief, you always did spend an uncanny amount of voluntary time around police stations."

"Hey, knowing your enemy is half the battle, right? And anyway, you law enforcement folks are just _too_ amusing for me to stay away."

"Hey, don't forget that you're one of us too now, even if it is only part time."

"Yes, well, I'm pretty amusing too if I do say so myself."

"More like outrageous."

"It all depends on your perspective."

"Kaito," Shinichi said more seriously as the magician grabbed his keys and they headed out the door, "she said something about you helping me get here. I don't suppose you know why she said that?"

Kaito paused with his hand on the doorknob, frowning. "Unfortunately, no, I don't. Unless wishing real hard that you were here with me counted?"

Shinichi blushed and looked away. "I was worried about you too, even if it was only four days. I couldn't imagine what could have happened to make you just up and disappear like that."

Actually, he'd tried _very_ hard _not_ to imagine. Imagination could really be a curse when you were a homicide detective and people you cared about went missing.

Still, what had she meant by that? Did it have something to do with why the painting had kidnapped Kaito in the first place? Could he perhaps have some kind of power that they didn't know about?

When they finally made it to the police station, Kaito pulled Shinichi aside so he could give him a proper kiss before letting him go. "I'll come by after work and I can show you around the city a bit, okay?"

"And do some investigating," Shinichi agreed.

Kaito rolled his eyes but smiled fondly nonetheless. "Of course, Tantei-kun, I wouldn't expect anything less."

The office was abuzz with nervous and frustrated energy when Shinichi finally made it across the threshold. For a moment, Shinichi wondered what had happened. Then he remembered that Kaito had pulled a heist the night before and all the pieces fell into place. He couldn't believe it had slipped his mind, but then he was so used to the magician thief that that heist had hardly registered. With what KID normally got up to, the night before had been rather tame. Chances were, Kaito had wanted to take it easy on them until they got used to him. Not that you could ever _really_ get used to him. The fact that he could still catch Shinichi off guard was proof enough of that. Or was it? Maybe the fact that Shinichi had gotten so comfortable with him made it easier, despite being probably the only person in the world who could claim to _understand_ Kaitou KID.

"Who does he think he is?" Inspector Saehara was raging as Shinichi made his way towards his desk, hoping the man wouldn't notice him. If he was anything like Nakamouri—and they did seem to share some basic characteristics—he had no desire to spend the day going deaf from his tirade. What he needed was some distance.

"He made us look like fools!"

Kaito, Shinichi reflected, was good at that.

And he resigned himself to a day of listening to the absolute confusion of his new coworkers. No, Kaito was nothing like Dark. His tricks and traps were definitely going to leave marks, and in more ways than one.

Shinichi had been right about the glue and several officers were still picking the stuff from the bottoms of their shoes. One pair of shoes, if Shinichi recalled correctly, were still stuck somewhere on the museum floor—someone was supposed to go back for it today. But the most lasting reminder of KID's debut had to be Inspector Saehara's new head of violently green hair. Shinichi knew from experience that Kaito's dyes were hell to wash out; he'd heard Hakuba complain about it countless times. And rumor had it that on the night of the heist, Kaito had pinned flowers in it too. Knowing his partner, he might even have pictures to show for it—a memento from his un-retirement.

Oh well, they would learn. They didn't have a choice. You had to if you didn't want KID to drive you insane, and even then… Well, at least you could say you tried.

.

Riku stifled a yawn and picked up the old shirt she'd been drawing a design onto so she could get a better look at her work.

"Did you not sleep well last night?" Daisuke asked, rubbing at his own eyes as he looked up from the giant cardboard pieces he was painting on.

"Yeah. You too by the looks of it."

The redhead laughed sheepishly. "I had a lot on my mind."

Riku nodded, glancing around the room at all the other students, all busily engaged in making props for their upcoming performance. The only "slight" problem being that they hadn't exactly agreed upon what they were going to perform.

"Hey, Daisuke," Riku said suddenly, "what do you think about fairytales?"

"Huh?"

"Well, I was looking over all the stories people have been suggesting for the play and almost all of them are fairytales." Riku shrugged, adding a flourish of sparkling gold paint to the shirt's hem. "Risa's all crazy about them and Kuroba-sensei said that if we couldn't all agree on a story, we could just combine them all and create a new one. So I was just wondering what you thought."

"To be honest, I'm not sure. But I guess it would be kind of cool if fairytales could come true, wouldn't it?" He looked down, embarrassed. "Maybe it's a bit silly, but I mean, it would be nice if everyone could have a happily ever after, you know?"

Riku paused, considering. "I never thought about it that way. I suppose that would be nice, though it does seem a bit improbable. People are too good at finding ways to upset themselves. Still, I guess when you look at it like that, it's easier to understand why so many people like fairytales."

"What about you, Miss Riku?"

"I don't know. The stories are all right, but they make people act pretty weird sometimes."

"That's true."

Before either of them could speak another word, Risa came hurtling across the room with a dress in her hands and a frustrated scowl on her face. "Riku! Riku, it's been decided!"

"What's been decided?"

"The play, silly!" Dropping down onto the floor beside her twin, Risa held up the dress for Riku to see. "We took a vote and it looks like it's going to be Swan Princess, but I just can't get my dress right! I get to do the design for the swans!"

"What? Why didn't Daisuke and I get asked?"

Risa blinked, honestly confused. "What? But we thought you guys wouldn't care what we chose."

Riku rolled her eyes. "Of course we don't care, but it's considered polite. Oh never mind," she sighed. "What did you need help with?"

"I want these feathers along the shoulder," Risa explained, happy now that she was going to get help.

"Here, give it to me. You're holding the needle all wr—ow!" Riku jerked her hand away and put her finger in her mouth.

"Ah! Riku, I'm so sorry!"

"Miss Riku! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Riku assured them, examining the tiny wound. "It's just a pin prick."

"I'll get a bandage," Daisuke said, scrambling to his feet. "Be back right away."

"Okay, thanks." Resting the dress across her lap, Riku frowned at her sister. "Why Swan Princess? Do we even have the right people to play the parts? I thought that one had a lot of characters."

"Yes, but it's such a beautiful idea, don't you think? A princess who gets captured and cursed by an evil wizard and turned into a swan—and then needing her beloved prince to declare his true love for her in order to make her human again."

"Yeah, yeah," but Riku wasn't really listening anymore. She just had the strangest feeling—a tingling in the back of her mind that made everything seem really far away all of a sudden. Giving her head a firm shake, she forced herself back to the present and held out her hand for the first aid kit as Daisuke dropped down beside her. She really needed to get more sleep.

.

"So this is where the artist's brother lives, is it?"

Shinichi nodded, glancing back down at his notebook to confirm the address. "Rulane Jiyo, brother of recently deceased Rulane Reahna. I was trying to figure out more about those paintings, but the museum really didn't know very much. They don't even know for sure that it was her brother who delivered them, and all they have for each painting is a name. There aren't any dates either, though rumors say that the fairytale series was her life's work, the work she really poured her heart and soul into."

"Which, of course, is what makes them magical," Kaito mused. "So the magic of artwork feeds on people's emotions, maybe people's dreams. Seems like another scenario for how too much of a good thing can be bad for you."

Shinichi made a sound of agreement and stepped up to ring the doorbell.

The man who answered the door looked…well, very ordinary. He had the kind of face and build Kaito might have chosen if he were scouting out the location for his next heist and didn't want to be noticed or remembered.

"Can I help you?"

Shinichi reached for his police ID, but Kaito grabbed his hand before he could finish the motion and gave the man a pleasant smile. "You're Rulane Jiyo, right? We're doing some research on recent artistic interpretations of old stories and saw your sister's fairytale series at the Modera Museum. We were really quite fascinated and were hoping you might have more information about them—what inspired her and that sort of thing."

Jiyo frowned uncertainly. "I'm afraid we weren't really close. I'm not sure how much I can really tell you."

"Well," Kaito put on a show of being hesitant and eager at the same time, "what about any of her other work? Do you have any sketches or old pictures that might highlight her thought process?"

Jiyo studied them for a moment longer then seemed to make his mind up. "When she died, I was going to clean out her apartment but I still haven't had the time. You're free to look around in it if you like. I don't really have any use for any of her things."

"Oh, would that really be all right? That would be wonderful."

Half an hour later, the two were sorting through the cluttered apartment.

"Strange, he seemed so relieved to be handing all this stuff over to us," Shinichi mused, flipping through one of several old sketchbooks piled upon the desk. None of this stuff had been moved since their owner's untimely death. The official story was that she'd committed suicide. But Shinichi was starting to wonder if that was really the case.

"She was delusional," Kaito observed, perched on a stool she'd used while she painted. "Look, I think this is her diary. It seems to be all about her romantic fantasies—knights and princes, dragons and witches, that sort of thing."

"What does it say at the end?"

"Let's see." Kaito flipped to the last few written pages, his amusement fading as he scanned their contents. "It sounds like she wanted her fairytales to come true so badly they drove her mad. But then again, maybe it's not so crazy considering the world we're in."

"What did she say?" Shinichi repeated, standing so he could peer over Kaito's shoulder. His brow furrowed. "Is that even possible?"

"I've decided to abandon this world," Kaito read aloud, "for one where dreams can actually come true, for a world of my own creation… Do you think she could have painted herself into her paintings?"

"Her life, her soul, and her desire to make reality into her own wonderland."

They exchanged worried looks, similar thoughts running through both their minds. It looked like they might have just found the reason for the paintings' actions. The problem was, what in the world could they do about it? And what part was Kaito playing in all this? But before either of them could say more, someone outside screamed.

Shinichi sighed and turned towards the door. "Why does this always happen to me?"

He'd made it halfway out into the hallway before he realized that Kaito wasn't following him. "Kaito?"

The magician was standing in the middle of the room, blinking a little dazedly. "It's nothing, just feel a little…strange all of a sudden."

Shaking his head, Kaito seemed to snap back into himself and hurried to join his detective outside and lock the door behind them. "Let's go."

.

Daisuke, Saehara, Riku, Risa, and Satoshi had been sitting outside a new yogurt shop downtown when they heard the commotion. Something smashed and suddenly, people were screaming and shouting in confusion and terror. And then—not shouting? Satoshi was out of his chair and would have raced down the street towards the source except that the source had just arrived in the form of a massive, semi-translucent serpent which lunged around the corner, hissing.

Risa shrieked, scrambling out of her chair. "Ah! Riku, what _is_ that?"

Before Riku could respond, Daisuke had grabbed both of them and was yanking them out of the way just as a tail smashed the table where they'd been sitting. "Run!"

Pushing them ahead of him, Daisuke turned and ran back to Saehara who was staring open-mouthed with his camera half upraised. "What are you doing still standing here? This is so not the time to be taking pictures!"

"But it's—it's the size of a _house_!"

"Which is more than big enough to swallow you without chewing," Satoshi cut in, rejoining them as he pulled something from his pocket and held it up. A pendant shaped like a tiny, silver cross gleamed then flashed brightly as the serpent's head snapped towards them. Saehara stumbled backwards and Daisuke cringed, but before the massive jaws could reach them, it seemed to collide with something invisible but solid. Hissing, it reeled back, its yellow eyes unblinking and furious.

Beyond it, Daisuke could make out the other people who had been on the street all lying unconscious upon the sidewalks like so many discarded dolls.

Ignoring the shock that lanced up his arm when the serpent collided with the barrier, Satoshi took a step forward. He'd been expecting something like this to happen ever since their conversation about the fairytale paintings and had created something he thought might work to contain the power of the works. He'd begun experimenting tentatively with making artworks that might be able to counteract the power of other artworks, but so far, he wasn't entirely sure if he was succeeding.

/_It won't work you know,_/ the unwelcome, mocking voice of his family curse responded in his head. /_The power of art is in your blood. You're a Hikari. You can never escape that. It's your fate._/

"Shut up," he muttered, his hand clenching on the chain of the pendant while he struggled to shove that voice back into the dark recesses of his head.

The snake recovered quickly, but instead of trying to attack again as he'd expected, it sank back onto its coils, yellow eyes fixed upon them. And then without warning, it opened its mouth and screeched, a high-pitched, ear-piercing, bloodcurdling scream that reverberated through the very ground beneath their feet. The sound seemed to explode outward from it, sending them all stumbling back under a sudden wave of numbness.

"What the—"

But that was all any of them had time for before their minds were swallowed up by the darkness of unnatural, extreme exhaustion.

The moment Daisuke lost consciousness Dark took control of the body and rolled onto his feet. "Damn, this thing's even stronger now than it was last time! It almost feels—"

"Like being inside an artwork?"

"Krad!" Taking a few steps back so he could keep an eye on both the serpent and his arch-nemesis at the same time, Dark narrowed his eyes. "What an unpleasant surprise."

The blond demon in angel's guise laughed. "This is perfect. You don't feel it? This," he gestured at the serpent and the Modera in the distance, "is making us stronger."

Dark frowned. He had been feeling different lately, though he hadn't been able to pinpoint why.

"Harnessing energy from everyday humans," Krad mused, eyeing the serpent even as it eyed him in return. "I didn't know it could be done like this."

Great, Dark thought as Krad took a step _towards_ the serpent. He didn't know what the other was planning, but it was never anything good. Being insane and evil did that to a person. Before he could intercede, however, the snake interrupted for him by lunging forward. Both alter egos threw themselves out of the way, Dark maneuvering himself towards a more open part of the street while the other took to the air.

/_Dark?_/ Daisuke's groggy voice piped up in the back of his mind. /_The others—we've got to get them away._/

"I'm trying, but I'm a bit busy here," he muttered, dodging another lash of the serpent's tail, which left cracks upon the flagstones.

A flash of light out of the corner of his eye warned him that Krad was invoking some kind of spell. Perhaps sensing it as well, the giant serpent spun its head and darted for him, sunlight glittering on its needle-like fangs which seemed to have become more solid as it crashed its way through the city. The alter ego started to move out of the way but jerked to a stop, cursing.

"You can't really be thinking—!"

His snarl of incredulity was abruptly cut off as fangs sliced into his side. They weren't ordinary teeth. They didn't even break the skin, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt like hell.

Krad let out a sound somewhere between a cry of pain and a scream of rage. Light pulsed down the sinuous length of the massive serpent as yellow hair bled back to pale blue. Gritting his teeth and fighting to keep his eyes open, Satoshi raised the hand that was still holding the cross pendant and threw it.

As it spun through the air, the thin chain upon which it hung seemed to grow longer, stretching outward and almost seeming to drift like a shining web of gossamer thread as it fell down upon the serpent. There was no way it could loop around the giant coils—no way that it was long enough, and yet somehow it was.

And then the serpent wasn't there anymore.

Dark caught the blue-haired teen before he could hit the ground, lowering him carefully to the flagstones before walking over to examine the cross pendant on its thin, silver chain now lying in a heap where it had fallen.

"Well that was…interesting."

Kaito crouched down beside the pendant to examine it. Behind him, Shinichi was busy making sure nobody was dead. Dark hadn't even noticed them arrive.

"I'm not sure anyone should touch that," the violet-haired thief warned, but Kaito just smirked.

"I wasn't going to." Not directly anyway. Making a plastic bag appear in his hand with a flourish, he carefully retrieved the pendant, folded the bag securely shut, and stowed it safely away. You picked up habits like that when you spent as much time as he did around detectives. Shinichi would throw a fit if he messed with anything that could be evidence.

"How is everyone?" he asked as Shinichi came to stand beside them.

"Out cold, but I think they'll be all right. I called the station and they'll take care of getting everyone inside off the streets, preferably to a hospital where they can get a proper checkup. I'm not so sure about Hiwatari though. He's barely breathing."

"I'm curious to know exactly what he did," Dark mused, turning his gaze back towards the unconscious boy in question. "Seems he's been busier than I thought."

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>


	5. My Sleeping Beauty

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>V<strong>

**My Sleeping Beauty**

The one thing Kaito just couldn't get used to about being a teacher was having to assign and then grade homework. For goodness sake, it was like assigning homework for himself to do! He was supposed to be teaching theatre, not mathematics. And yet the school still wanted something to help score the students with—prove that they were learning things.

Tapping the end of his pen against the desk, Kaito waited until most of the students had filed out of the classroom with the final bell before calling out, "Hey, Hiwatari-kun, please wait for a moment. I'd like to speak with you."

Satoshi nodded and stepped up to his desk. The boy had seemed extremely preoccupied all day and maybe a little shocked, though Kaito couldn't fathom why.

"What is it?"

Reaching into his pocket, Kaito lifted the plastic bag containing the cross pendant and held it up. "Well, I was hoping you could tell me more about this."

.

Detective Ishikawa stared at the neatly wrapped package lying atop his desk. He'd found it there when he'd arrived that morning and opened it with caution before hastily calling the museum for an expert to come tell him if the item contained within was what he thought it was. Of course he _recognized_ the painting. He just couldn't understand what it was doing on his desk, having just been stolen by the new phantom thief the night before last.

"Ishikawa-san?" Shinichi poked his head through the door to find the other detective still dithering over the painting Kaito had returned sometime during the night. It was kind of funny watching the man try so hard to figure out what Kaito was up to. "I don't think it's booby-trapped or anything, you know. Just take it back to the museum."

"But why? Why'd he give it back?"

"Well, probably because he didn't want it anymore."

"But then why'd he steal it in the first place?"

"I don't know," Shinichi lied. "Why don't you just ask him next time?"

Of course, Kaito probably wouldn't answer, but that didn't mean you shouldn't ask just in case he was feeling charitable.

"I…suppose."

"Why don't you give me the painting and I'll make sure it gets back to its museum. I've been wanting a look at one of the other exhibits in there anyway."

And this was really the perfect excuse.

Once he'd delivered the painting back to the museum curator, it was easy enough to ask the man to show him to the exhibit in question. There were round about a dozen paintings in all but with five paintings in particular including that of Swan Lake forming the centerpiece. Coming to a halt in front of it, Shinichi stared up at the image of the same silver-haired princess he had seen the other morning, her face turned slightly away towards the landscape beyond the painting as though hiding some sad or terrible secret.

"Have you much interest in art, detective?"

Glancing sidelong at the old curator who had followed him into the gallery, Shinichi shrugged. "It depends on the art. A…friend of mine tells me I'm more of a critic."

"Artists need those too," the curator said, nodding more to himself than to Shinichi.

The detective hesitated then asked casually, "People say that art has a kind of magic. I was just wondering if it was true."

"Of course they do, all art does in a way." The old man smiled up at the painting, though his gaze seemed to be looking at something far distant, probably something long ago. "Music and sculpture, paintings and literature—the magic of emotions and stories and dreams. After all, it's really an era's artwork that ends up defining the character of the period."

Shinichi frowned a little. All kinds of artwork, huh? Music and sculptures, paintings and literature…and magic, Kaito's magic. The art of deception which Kaito had mastered and refined into an art of dreams. Could that be why the paintings had brought him here? Perhaps in this world, Kaito's unusual penchant for making impossible things possible was more than just luck and strategic planning.

"Do you have any other questions I could help you with?"

"Ah, no thank you. I'd just like to look around for awhile if you don't mind."

"Of course. Take your time."

Shinichi waited until the man had gone before walking slowly around the room to examine each painting in detail. He assumed the _Swan Lake_ painting was a reference to the story of the Swan Princess. _Mirror, Mirror_ was obviously an image from some version of Snow White, though Shinichi had to wonder why the subject of the painting was the queen. Perhaps the artist had somehow identified with the queen and her desire to be the most beautiful creature in the world. Or perhaps it was the queen's vindictive nature and ability to harm those who stood in the way of her own story that had given the character its appeal to her. Or her power to ruin the dreams of others in order to fulfill her own desires and make her own dreams come true.

He grimaced at that interpretation. It was certainly possible if unsavory.

Then there was the painting of a sleeping woman with the shadow of someone or something upon the balcony. Or—hold on a moment.

Shinichi blinked and squinted at the painting. The woman—she _had_ been asleep just a moment ago, hadn't she? But now, he could swear he could see just the hint of silver eyes beneath her long lashes and the touch of a strange smile upon her face.

Looking down at the label beneath the paitning, he read aloud, "_A Treasure to Keep_."

"Shinichi?"

He jumped and spun around. He hadn't heard anyone come in. Then again, considering who it was, he wouldn't. "Kaito!"

The magician favored him with an expression of concern. "You all right? You look a little pale."

"I think someone's in trouble," Shinichi explained, gesturing towards the painting in question.

It only took Kaito a second to realize what he was referring to.

"Good thing I have this then." He snapped his fingers and held something up so Shinichi could see. "Hiwatari-kun said that we could keep it. It didn't do quite what he intended it to, so he hasn't got a use for it anymore. But it should work perfectly for our purposes."

Shinichi eyed the cross-shaped pendant doubtfully. "And what purpose would that be?"

His voice quite serious, Kaito stepped up to him and secured the pendant's chain around his neck. "To keep you safe, just in case Swan-san gets any ideas. This pendant can't actually be used to seal away the power of an artwork, but apparently, it can nullify their magic for a little while—zaps their strength, I guess, even if it won't get rid of them for good."

"What about you?"

Kaito dismissed his question with a shrug. "Hey, she brought me here alive, right? If she wanted me dead, I'm sure she would have made an attempt by _now_."

"That's not really that comforting. Who's to say she won't decide you're more trouble than you're worth?"

"I'll just have to trust my luck, no?"

When they arrived outside the museum, Shinichi was expecting something—well, _obvious_, like people screaming or giant animals wreaking havoc in the streets. But as far as he could tell, the town was as peaceful and quiet seeming as it had been earlier.

"I wonder where—"

"This way."

Shinichi turned to Kaito, startled. The magician was frowning down the street towards their left. "Kaito?"

"I don't know how," Kaito murmured, taking his hand and starting towards the boundaries of the settlement, "but I just _know_. It's this feeling, like something's calling me."

"Are you sure you should be listening to it?" Shinichi asked anxiously.

Kaito chuckled. "Maybe calling wasn't the right word choice. It's just so hard to describe."

Whatever it was that Kaito felt, it drew them to a cliff overlooking the bay where they found three very familiar teens.

Daisuke and the Harada twins had apparently been working on their art class homework, though now their sketchbooks lay forgotten upon the grass. Because Riku was sprawled unconscious upon the ground.

"Why won't she wake up?" Risa was crying, clinging to her sister's limp hand.

Daisuke knelt on her other side, frantic but not knowing what to do. He didn't know what was wrong with her.

"What happened here?" Shinichi asked, moving forward to join them and falling naturally into detective mode.

Daisuke shook his head helplessly. "We were just talking when Riku suddenly collapsed."

Shinichi examined the girl carefully and frowned. "She's asleep."

"But we can't wake her."

Shinichi glanced up at Kaito who was staring out at the sea, his face a blank mask. Could he see something out there? But all the detective saw when he followed the direction of his gaze was the undulating expanse of blue water.

Finally, coming out of whatever daze he had been in, Kaito bent and carefully lifted the sleeping girl into his arms. "Come on, I think we'd better get her home. Harada-chan, would it be okay with you if Shinichi and I stayed at your house tonight? I don't think we should leave her alone."

"Um, sure, we do have a lot of extra rooms," Risa said uncertainly. "But what's wrong with Riku? Is she going to be all right?"

The magician gave her his best reassuring smile. "Of course she will be. We'll all make sure of it."

.

"I wish we knew more about what we're dealing with," Shinichi muttered, standing before the bookshelves in the main sitting room of the Harada mansion. He had some ideas of course, but nothing solid enough for him to want to voice anything yet.

Kaito frowned down into the cup of tea the butler had given him. He wasn't exactly a big fan of tea. "Back there by the sea… I think I saw something."

There had been a shadow in the water, too vast to be anything natural and yet there all the same. It had grown darker as he watched as though it were surfacing but never quite broke the water, and for a moment, Kaito had seen what might have been eyes staring back at him and the flash of scales.

"This is going to sound strange, but I think it was a dragon."

"No stranger than everything else we've seen here," Shinichi sighed. "A dragon, huh? Let's see, the name of that painting was _A Treasure to Keep_."

The magician glanced up at that, a thoughtful expression settling onto his face. "A treasure, that makes sense. European dragons are said to horde treasures."

"So we have a painting—I'm pretty sure it's related to the whole Sleeping Beauty story—with a shadow in the background, and you saw the shadow of a dragon at the sea where Riku fell asleep." Shinichi paused, the pieces clicking together in his head. "You don't think… Sleeping Beauty _was _the dragon's treasure, only she was _awake _in that painting and now somehow, Riku has taken her place?"

They both looked up towards the ceiling. Both Daisuke and Risa were upstairs with Riku and so far, everything had been quiet.

"I've been meaning to ask you about earlier," Shinichi said finally, sinking onto the couch next to his partner. "So far, every time something's happened, you seemed to know about it. You said it was some kind of feeling?"

Kaito closed his eyes, trying to recall how he'd felt at the museum, and before that when they were at the artist's apartment. "I don't know how to describe it better. It's like for just a moment, I'm _there_ and then it's all just an echo in the back of my head."

He stopped suddenly, going rigid before springing to his feet. "Upstairs!"

Something crashed in the room above and Shinichi thought he caught the sound of breaking glass. Then Risa screamed.

They arrived in Riku's bedroom just in time to see a single giant, reptilian paw reach across to wrap scaly talons almost tenderly around the sleeping girl. Then the dragon was launching itself into the sky and Daisuke—no, now Dark—was haring after it. Risa sat on the carpeted floor, pale and stunned but unhurt as far as they could tell.

"The museum!" Shinichi exclaimed and the two young men were racing down the stairs and out the door.

Kaito made short work of the museum lock and security system—this was no time for dithering over legalities—and they were sprinting through the deserted galleries. As they skidded into the room with the fairytale exhibit, they caught sight of the tip of the dragon's tail as it vanished into the painting of Sleeping Beauty followed by a flurry of black wings. Without thinking, Kaito grabbed Shinichi and leapt after them.

"Wait! Kaito, that's—!" But Shinichi didn't have time to finish his protest as the painting blazed with light and they were suddenly falling through a stormy sky towards crashing ocean waves. Shinichi heard Kaito curse followed by a startled intake of breath and then their rapid plunge jerked into a smoother, less frantic descent. Surprised, the detective looked up to find Kaito in his KID uniform, his glider catching the wind as he steered them towards what appeared to be a tiny island with a castle of scorched and blackened stone at its center.

"I'm just as surprised as you are," Kaito said in answer to his unspoken question. "I didn't have all my equipment on me. I just thought it and now it's all here. Lucky break for us, I'd say."

Lucky, somehow Shinichi thought it was more than just luck. It looked like they were finally going to start getting some good, reliable answers. For now, he was just grateful that he didn't have to find out firsthand if the churning waves below were as cold as they looked.

Dark was waiting for them on the beach when they landed, his face alight with curiosity. "I don't know how you two followed us in here, but we have to move fast. The world of artworks isn't meant for humans and can be rather hostile, so staying for long periods becomes extremely taxing."

The two humans nodded and they all turned their gazes up towards the dark towers, back by occasional strikes of lightning in the distance that didn't make a sound. Though even as they watched, the dark clouds seemed to be drifting apart, allowing the moonlight to once again illuminate a rapidly calming sea.

Because the dragon had gotten its treasure back.

_Sorry_, Kaito thought, _but we can't let you keep her_.

It would be terribly irresponsible of them.

It was easy to figure out where the dragon had taken its new prisoner. Only so many of the rooms had balconies like the one in the painting, and only one of those had its doors open. And even more importantly, curled upon the railing of that particular balcony was a statue of polished black stone, a serpentine beast with its great wings half unfurled and its angular head resting upon clawed forepaws. Noting the position of the correct tower, the three headed inside.

"This is really quite amazing," Shinichi mused, fascinated despite himself as they passed a torch set in its bracket upon the wall. "There's no heat. It's almost like one big stage illusion."

This comment earned him a confused look from Kaito. "What do you mean?"

"Huh?"

"It seems warm enough to me, just like real fire."

Shinichi blinked and turned his head to stare at him. "Are you sure?"

"Do you doubt me?"

The detective shook his head, adding this new bit of information to his mental files. "Interesting."

The door to the room they were looking for was locked from the inside, but with two master thieves in their little party, the lock hardly stood a chance. Shinichi couldn't help but feel a slightly eerie shiver run up his spine as they stepped into an exact replica of the room in the painting he had been examining only that morning. Down to the very last detail—the way the curtains were billowing gently, the silvery quality of the light—everything was exactly how it had seemed in the artist's masterpiece except for the girl who lay upon the bed.

"Hey, Riku, it's time to wake up," Dark murmured, shaking her by the shoulder with one eye trained on the statue of the dragon out upon the balcony. But try as he might, Riku didn't react, her head lolling in an almost lifeless manner that he found slightly alarming. Frowning, the art thief concentrated and reached out with his own magic before giving a yelp and drawing back. "It seems I'm not very welcome in this world either. I've never felt power quite like this before."

"But it won't really do any good if we just get her out of here and can't wake her up," Shinichi observed. Was it his imagination or was the statue on the balcony getting bigger? They had to hurry and get out of there.

"Of course!" Kaito exclaimed suddenly, "I can't believe I didn't think of it before. This is a _fairytale_, remember? And in here, we're _part of the story_."

"But what does that…" Shinichi trailed off as realization dawned.

"Makes sense to me," Dark murmured, "which means…"

A moment later, Dark had vanished and Daisuke was standing where he had been. The redhead stumbled forward in surprise at the sudden change. "But what am I supposed to do?"

Shinichi coughed and looked away while Kaito grinned.

"You're supposed to wake your princess," the magician said, nodding towards the sleeping Riku. "The kiss of her true love to wake the sleeping beauty."

Realization sinking in at last, Daisuke flushed as red as his hair. "You mean I'm—I'm supposed to—kiss her?"

"Yup. Better get to it. Time's a wasting!"

"Don't worry," Shinichi said, pushing his partner firmly towards the bedroom door, "we won't watch."

"Of course not." Kaito smirked, turning so he could pull the door shut behind them and pin Shinichi to it at the same time. "Why watch someone else kiss his princess when I can kiss mine?"

"Kaito! This is not the—mph!"

.

The dragon couldn't remember when it had all started—the first time its sleep had been disturbed and it had realized there was even such a thing as sleep and consciousness. It remembered the brush of a melodious voice, just a whisper really in its mind—not of words or any phrase in particular but of _desire_.

It hadn't known what desire was until that moment, and it hadn't known that it was content in its unconsciousness until its treasure had been taken away and that sleep was finally disturbed.

It had taken a lot of effort to stir itself and to find a way into the world where it had sensed the presence of its lost keepsake, the princess of this desolate castle that it was supposed to guard, to protect, to keep—to _imprison_. But it had found a way, found some thread leading into that world and finally, finally it could rest again.

Or so it had thought.

.

Brown eyes fluttered open then widened it shock. A startled gasp and their owner sat bolt upright, her cheeks flushing as vivid a crimson as the hair on her companion's head. The redhead himself had sprung backward so fast it was like he'd been teleported across the room, blushing to the roots of his flaming hair.

"Oh good, it worked!" he exclaimed in relief, partly to cover up his own embarrassment and trying not to think about the softness of her lips.

"What worked?" Riku demanded, not quite able to meet his eyes. It hadn't exactly been a bad way to wake up, she reflected. "Daisuke, where are we anyway? What happened?"

"So you don't remember anything?"

"All I remember was working on our sketches by the sea." Riku's brow scrunched up in concentration, but everything after that remained a blank.

"You fell asleep and we couldn't wake you," Daisuke explained, finally dredging up the courage to edge back to the side of the bed. "It's kind of hard to explain. You got kidnapped by a dragon and taken into this painting and Kuroba-sensei and his friend came too—" and he knew he was babbling a bit but it was hard to stop, "—and he said the only way to wake you was if—was if I k—kissed you."

"Oh." There wasn't really much else she could say.

The awkward pause was broken by a sudden low, menacing growl. The hairs pricked on the back of Daisuke's neck and Riku spun to stare at the balcony's open doors. What had been a relatively small statue of a dragon was definitely no longer small and very much alive. Steely muscles flexed beneath an armor plating of dark scales and angry, reptilian eyes locked on the two figures in the room. Then it opened its mouth, displaying rows of long, jagged teeth like curving, ivory knives and roared.

"Come on!" Daisuke didn't wait for any more. All embarrassment forgotten, he grabbed Riku's hand and the two of the stumbled towards the door just as claws scythed through the air where he had been.

"Kudou-san! Kuroba-sensei!"

But neither adult was in the hallway. Daisuke faltered, panicking for a moment before he spotted—a note attached to the opposite wall?

'_Down the hall and up the stairs, we have an idea.' _

Daisuke hoped that whatever that idea was, it had something to do with getting them out of here. Riku didn't know that he and Dark shared a body yet, and he definitely didn't relish the thought of her finding out like this.

.

Shinichi grimaced as the castle shook.

"So you really think all I have to do is wish?" Kaito asked dubiously.

"It worked when we needed your glider," Shinichi pointed out, "and you were also able to will your regular attire back."

"Good point. It just seems sort of bizarre." Shaking his head, Kaito moved to wrap one arm around his partner's waist, steadying the both of them as the ground shook again. Above the dragon's enraged yowls, he could hear the frantic footfalls of two people staggering up the stairs. Grinning a little madly with the adrenaline racing through his veins, Kaito lowered his head so he could murmur in Shinichi's ear. "Ready to give this a try?"

"Oi, the kids will be here any second!"

And then Daisuke and Riku had arrived on the open tower top followed by the dragon's massive head rearing up over the low railing. Kaito shut his eyes and concentrated, pictured the museum gallery and wished with every ounce of his exceptionally vivid imagination that the four of them were out there back in the world in which they belonged.

Shinichi didn't realize he'd shut his eyes too until he suddenly felt the ground vanish from beneath his feet and they flew open to find himself already high in the sky, rapidly darkening once more with storm clouds. Above them, mist and white light obscured their destination, bleeding away the color of this place that was not really a place at all, and he could only hope Kaito really had the power to take them back. Looking down once more at the world of the painting which they were quickly leaving behind, Shinichi felt his heart leap into his throat. Because there solidifying upon the shores of the island castle was a woman with long, silver hair, her face contorted in rage and maybe—maybe something like desperation as her icy glare fixed upon them. Then the coils of the massive dragon settled around her and they were gone.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>


	6. Being a Phantom thief

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>VI<strong>

**Being a Phantom Thief**

"I have a theory," Shinichi announced from his seat on the couch back in the Harada mansion's main sitting room, "or a couple theories actually."

"Where would we be without your theories?" Kaito teased. "Fire away."

Shinichi flipped back through the pages of the notebook in his lap, his brow furrowed in contemplation. "Firstly, I think Swan-san brought you here because you somehow have the ability to augment the power of artwork. You seem to have some connection to it at any rate, like how you were able to manipulate things in her world to some extent, and how you could feel the fire like you were part of that world but I couldn't. Maybe the fact that you're here makes it possible to use you as a kind of link into the human world, thus also why you can always feel it the moment something emerges from the paintings like the snake and the dragon."

"That does make a lot of sense in a magic kind of way," Kaito mused, leaning over the back of the couch to peer at his notes.

"Which brings us to what she wants," Shinichi said, turning another page. "Just as we were leaving the painting, I saw her reappear on the beach. It was like the painting pulled her back in when we got Riku out. So what if the reason that Riku fell asleep and was taken by the dragon was because she was there to _replace the original_ princess in Sleeping Beauty—the original woman in the painting."

Kaito frowned thoughtfully. "So what you're saying is that while the artist Rulane Reahna tried to paint herself into fairytales, this woman featured in these fairytale paintings is trying to find a way out into real life."

"Exactly, and she's been using these fairytales—_her_ paintings, you'll notice that there is always at least one person in each one that looks practically like her twin—to get whatever power it is people have that she needs for that purpose. But that also means we can turn things around by playing by the rules of the story, because those key elements are what makes each fairytale the kind of story it is in popular imagination."

"Five paintings," Kaito murmured darkly, "that's a lot of stories she's got at her disposal. We're never going to get anywhere if we constantly have to solve them."

"Perhaps Niwa-kun's family can help. Didn't he say they specialized in sealing the power of different artworks?"

"Hmm." Kaito glanced up at the ceiling, shrugged, and straightened up. "I'll go talk to him."

Shinichi nodded, stifling a yawn. Man he was tired. It had been one long and terribly eventful day and their little trek through the painting had taken half the night. Perhaps he should consider calling in sick tomorrow and taking the day off work.

.

Kaito paused in the doorway of Riku's room, checking to see that the girl was fast asleep before stealing cat silent across it to the balcony door, left just slightly ajar. He raised his eyebrows when he spotted the redhead leaning against the railing, his shoulders slumped in an attitude of weary misery.

"If you're tired, Niwa-kun, you should probably head home."

"Oh, Kuroba-sensei," Daisuke said, glancing back at him. "I'm fine, really. I'll just stay a little longer to make sure nothing else happens."

"I haven't seen Risa-chan since we got back."

"I think Miss Harada is in shock. She doesn't remember anything that happened. That's probably for the best."

"Why the long face?" Kaito asked, honestly curious. After all, what was there to be so down about? All of them had thus far made it through this ordeal in one piece, tired but otherwise unharmed.

Daisuke sighed, returning his gaze to the scattering of city lights. "Can I…ask you a question?"

"Other than the one you just asked, I assume," Kaito said lightly. "Of course, though I can't promise that I'll answer."

Daisuke nodded slowly. "Why did you…become a thief?"

The magician blinked, tilting his head slightly in thought. He hadn't been expecting that question. It was more the kind of thing he expected from a detective. Hakuba certainly asked him enough back in the day. Though perhaps because he wasn't being asked by a detective, he didn't feel the need to avoid giving an answer.

"Well," he started, choosing his words carefully, "I guess you could say it was partly for revenge, partly to learn more about someone I lost, and partly to keep certain things from falling into the hands of the wrong people much like you."

"But you seem to enjoy it so much," Daisuke said uncertainly.

Kaito chuckled. "You know, Shin-chan says the same thing. And it's true. I might have become a thief for some very serious reasons, but I do also have a lot of fun. You know, being a phantom thief's not the same as just being a thief. We don't just steal things. We keep people's dreams alive, let them keep believing in mysteries and magic."

"Grandpa said something like that once too," Daisuke mused. "And I know it's important not to just leave dangerous artworks where they can hurt people, but sometimes…"

The redhead trailed off, glancing back into the bedroom then giving his head a violent shake. "Never mind, I'm not sure what I'm trying to say."

Kaito watched him for a moment longer then shrugged. "I wanted to ask you about that whole sealing thing. Can you just," he waved in the general direction of the museum, "lock her paintings away or something?"

Daisuke frowned and his eyes went unfocused for a moment as though listening to something only he could hear. "We're definitely going to have to give it a try, but Dark's not sure if it'll work. There's something different about them that we've never seen before."

Kaito nodded. "Fair enough. Let us know what happens, all right? Shin-chan and I are going to head home for tonight."

"We will, and goodnight."

"Goodnight." Kaito took a step back towards the door then paused. Not looking back over his shoulder, he added, "And nothing that happened tonight was your fault, you know. If anything, I suppose it should be mine."

And _hers_. But right now there was nothing they could do about that.

Shinichi seemed oddly preoccupied when they said goodbye to the butler and headed for the front door. At Kaito's questioning look, he shrugged and inclined his head back towards the museum.

"I was just wondering why she would want so desperately to be human. When she was watching us leave, she looked so…" He shook his head, unable to articulate the exact mixture of outrage and anguish on her face. He would never forget that expression for as long as he lived.

"Probably because there's something she thinks she can get in our world that she can't get in her own. But what that is," he shrugged, "who knows?"

The magician and the detective didn't speak much as they made their way through the streets, both lost in brooding about what had happened and—more importantly—what was to come. This world in which they found themselves had never seemed so alien until that point. And yet in the light of the streetlamps and the moon in the aftermath of arguably one of the strangest adventures they'd ever had, all the buildings suddenly felt so foreign and oddly far away.

They had almost made it back to their apartment when someone screamed. It wasn't an "oh there's a monster" scream. No, it was more normal than that, or at least what passed for normal around Shinichi, and they both groaned.

"I don't suppose you can just let someone else handle it for a change?" Kaito asked, already knowing the answer.

Shinichi sighed and turned his feet towards the source of the disturbance. "You know I can't just walk away. You can go home first if you want."

"And _you_ should know that I can't just leave you alone." Expelling an equally resigned breath, the magician fell into step beside him. "Let's just get this over with."

It wasn't a difficult case, but even so they were both bone tired by the time they staggered through their own front door. Later, Shinichi would blame their exhaustion for making them miss the extra rose in the vase upon the table.

.

Kaito woke the next morning feeling…odd. Keeping his eyes closed, he tried to remember what he'd been dreaming about. He was sure it had been important, but he couldn't for the life of him remember why.

Careful not to disturb his still sleeping companion, Kaito slid out of bed and made his way into the kitchen. He must have slept for only an hour or two because he still had quite a bit of time before he had to get to school. He briefly debated with himself whether to wake Shinichi but decided against it. His detective needed the sleep. Hell, Kaito would rather be in bed too, but he couldn't seem to clear his head enough to go back to sleep. Instead, he placed a call to the station to inform them Shinichi was sick and wouldn't be there today then set about brewing himself a cup of coffee. Perhaps the caffeine would help wake him up more if sleep didn't want to make itself an option.

He had only just poured himself a mug of the freshly brewed drink—which smelled far better than it tasted if you asked him—when he caught a glimpse of the vase on the edge of the table. A dozen red roses, he'd put them there only the day before. Roses… There had been a rose in his dream, he remembered suddenly, an incredible, flawless specimen so perfect it had looked almost fake.

As the memory flashed through his mind, Kaito noticed that there were now thirteen roses rather than twelve, but he had no time to worry about this as his vision went black.

Shinichi jerked awake at the tinkling crash of breaking porcelain. Rolling out of bed, he stumbled out of the bedroom, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "Kaito? Kaito, what's going on?"

The magician was hunched over the kitchen table with his hands spread upon the smooth wood to support him, the remains of a mug scattered about his feet in a spreading pool of coffee. He made no move to respond to Shinichi's question and the detective took a hesitant step towards him, concern chasing away the clinging vestiges of slumber.

"Kaito, what's wrong?"

Another second dragged by in uneasy stillness then Kaito abruptly shook himself and straightened up. Shinichi started to relax but froze when the magician turned to look at him.

"Who are you?"

Shinichi opened his mouth but shut it again when no sound came out. He couldn't believe Kaito had just asked him that. Yet searching the magician's face, he could find no trace of recognition, and he knew Kaito far too well not to know when he was or wasn't lying.

That didn't mean he wanted to believe it though.

"Kaito, this isn't funny."

Blank indigo eyes swept around the room and landed on the clock, seeming not to register that Shinichi was even still there. "Damn, I'd better hurry or I'm going to be late!"

And with that, Kaito vanished into the bedroom in search of a clean change of clothes. A few minutes later he had bolted out the door, leaving Shinichi still standing in the middle of the kitchen, stunned and maybe a little upset. Okay, scratch that. He was _way_ more than a little upset and the worst part was that he didn't know what to do to remedy the situation. Firmly shoving the beginnings of panic into the back of his mind, he spun around to glare at the various, gleaming surfaces in the brightly lit kitchen.

"I know you're here, Swan-san."

The image of the silver-haired woman appeared in the reflection upon the window glass, sharper than she had been the first time Shinichi had met her. Her face might have been beautiful but her smile could not have been uglier. Spite had a way of doing that to people.

"You don't seem very happy today, _Tantei-kun_."

"Kaito's the only one who can call me that," Shinichi snapped. He clenched his fists and shoved them into his pockets so she wouldn't see, glaring. "Whatever you did to him, undo it right now."

Swan shrugged, her silver-white eyes hooded with amusement. "I can't."

"You mean you won't."

"Won't and can't," she repeated coolly. "Of course, seeing as I'm the one who started the spell, I don't _want_ to lift it. You're tired of dealing with me and I'm tired of dealing with the two of you. You're making my life so much more complicated than it has to be. It's only natural that I take steps to change that. But even if I wanted to, I can't. The story's started. The parameters have been set. No one can stop it now, though you're welcome to try and change the outcome."

"What story?" Shinichi demanded.

But Swan just smiled and mouthed a silent challenge before disappearing. _"You have until midnight then he's mine." _

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: I know there were a lot of explanations in this chapter. Hopefully, it wasn't too dull. Some things have to be said:)


	7. Your Heart and Mine

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>VII<strong>

**Your Heart and Mine**

Taking a deep breath, Shinichi let it out slowly and tried to settle his nerves. _You have until midnight_, what had she meant by that? Until midnight to do what—find a way to restore Kaito's memories of him or they would be gone for good? That had certainly been her implication.

He felt sick.

A petulant side of him wanted to rage that she didn't have the right to do this to them. But then fairness wasn't a concept that entered into the calculations of the world all that often realistically speaking and throwing a fit about it wouldn't bring Kaito back.

This settled, Shinichi forced himself to focus on the problem at hand. Had Kaito already lost his memories when he'd gotten up that morning? But no, looking around the room, Shinichi found a note scribbled in Kaito's casual hand beside the phone addressed to 'Shin-chan!' just in case Shinichi hadn't woken up by the time he left for school. Apparently, he now had the day off from work.

Kaito had been standing at the kitchen table when he'd dropped his cup. It seemed logical to assume that whatever had changed, it had happened then. What had he been looking at? Cleaning up the spilled coffee and porcelain fragments while he scanned the tabletop, Shinichi's eyes fell upon the vase of roses. They seemed different from how he remembered. It took him a moment to figure out why.

One particular flower, partly hidden amongst the others, seemed a slightly different color—or perhaps it was the texture of it that felt out of place. Compared with the roses around it, its petals seemed impossibly red and strangely, unnaturally flawless, every petal in the ideal place. Yet as he watched, the brilliance of the rose appeared to bleed away just a little and a single petal wavered, drooped, then fell away to flutter down upon the table. It wouldn't last long.

_You have until midnight… _

Shinichi wasn't sure if he wanted to laugh, curse, or cry. Of course it had to be _that_ story. It made perfect sense—a spell and a time limit within which to break it or they would lose their chance forever. They had so little time and the enemy had dealt them their cards, but Shinichi wouldn't—couldn't—lose.

First thing was first. He had to find out exactly what Kaito had forgotten.

.

"Ah, I'm going to be late!"

Daisuke sprinted the entire way to school, mentally kicking himself for forgetting to set his alarm clock after he'd gotten home the night before. He'd just been so tired that it had completely slipped his mind. Just as he barreled through the school's front doors, however, a hand shot out and grabbed him by the back of the collar. Daisuke yelped and spun around when the hand let go.

"Kudou-san?"

Shinichi cleared his throat. "Sorry about that, but I've been waiting for you. I need to ask you for a favor."

"What is it?"

"Something's happened to Kaito and I need your help figuring out the details."

The redhead's face immediately clouded with worry. "Is Kuroba-sensei all right?"

The detective sighed. "I guess that depends on your definition of all right. He's not hurt or anything, but he seems to have forgotten who I am."

"What?"

"It has to do with Swan-san," Shinichi explained. He didn't feel much like going into the details at the moment. "Anyway, I need you to help me ask him a couple questions. If you'll take this listening device, I can hear what he says. It'll be strange if I ask seeing as he currently doesn't think he knows me."

Daisuke nodded. "I'll do what I can."

Shinichi smiled and proceeded to tell him the questions he'd put together while he was waiting.

During the break after morning classes, Daisuke made his way to the theatre teacher's office and knocked hesitantly on the door.

"Come in, it's not locked."

Wondering why he felt so nervous all of a sudden, the redhead pushed the door open and stepped inside. Kaito sat at his desk with various copies of what looked like the play their class had chosen spread out before him. It looked like he'd being going through the various scripts and jotting down notes.

"Is there something I can help you with, Niwa-kun?"

Daisuke took a deep breath, hastily sorting through all the points he was supposed to cover in his head. "I was just wondering if you've assigned roles yet for the performance."

Kaito shrugged. "No, I haven't. I was actually thinking about having you guys choose, or holding an informal audition for the parts."

"We're doing Swan Princess, right? Are you choosing what version of the script we're going to use?"

"That's right." Kaito swept a hand over his notes. "They all have some good parts though. I was just working on combining them when you arrived."

"Do you…do you think it's a good idea to do this story though?"

Indigo eyes met his blankly. "What do you mean?"

Daisuke shifted uncomfortably. "You know, with what's been happening with the Rulane exhibit."

"Ah, you mean those fairytale paintings we saw at the museum the other day. I'm still not sure what that has to do with our choice of story though. Did you not like the paintings?"

Daisuke stared. "Umm, I guess you could say that."

Kaito chuckled. "They were just paintings, Niwa-kun, a bit creepy maybe but that's no reason to let them influence our performance. Artists each have their own interpretations after all."

After last night, this conversation could not have felt more surreal. Shaking his head, Daisuke glanced around the room hurriedly and was relieved when he spotted that morning's newspapers on a stool by the window. "Oh, did you see Dark's newest heist notice? Seems like he's interested in the Rulane paintings too."

Kaito nodded absently, his gaze returning to the scripts scattered upon the tabletop.

"Do you think that new phantom thief will appear again?"

"Who?"

"KID, the one that pulled off that heist a couple weeks ago."

"Never heard of him. You say he's new?"

"Yeah," Daisuke faltered, starting to feel very sorry for Kudou-san. "He appeared shortly after you moved here, so maybe you had other things on your mind. Where did you say you were from again?"

At this, Kaito hesitated for a moment. "You must be mistaken. I've always lived here."

"But you told us that you just moved here on the first day of class…"

"Did I now? Hmm, I wonder why I would have said that."

Down the hall in an empty classroom leaning against the wall beside the door, Shinichi sighed. It looked like Kaito didn't remember anything related to their world or the magic that had brought them here. If he looked at it from _her_ perspective, it had been the perfect move. With Kaito's memories of their own world gone, he had no reason to search for a way home—no reason to fight her.

Shinichi didn't move when Daisuke slipped into the classroom.

"So which story is it?" the redhead asked.

Instead of answering aloud, Shinichi handed him his notebook, open to a page where he had included a photograph of the painting in question.

"_Fragile Hope_," Daisuke read, peering at the image and the title engraved upon the plaque beneath it. The image itself was dark and full of shadows. Though Daisuke thought he could make out the silhouettes of two people dancing in the back, all attention was focused upon a single red rose upon a glass table.

"Beauty and the Beast?" Daisuke guessed.

Shinichi cringed and nodded.

"Well," Daisuke said slowly, thinking, "I suppose in the story, the spell on the prince was finally broken because he fell in love."

Glancing up at the strange noise the detective had made at that statement, Daisuke wondered vaguely why Shinichi was turning red.

Much as he wanted to find a way to get Kaito back to normal, Shinichi was forced to wait until after his class was dismissed. At least that gave him some much needed thinking time. Really, it would have been so much easier if _he'd_ been the one who had lost his memories. Romance was Kaito's forte, not his. Then again, Kaito was good, but even he couldn't get someone to fall in love with him in only one day. Love didn't work that way. And in the end, Shinichi decided that even trying would be counterproductive. After all, it would be completely out of character for him and it was him just the way he was that Kaito had come to care for. No, there had to be another answer. Perhaps if he could remind him of things they had done together?

He was still trying to decide how to go about this plan when the students filed out of the classroom and he found himself face to face with the focus of his troubled thoughts.

"Hey, you're that guy who was in my kitchen this morning," Kaito exclaimed in recognition. "Come to think of it, what _were_ you doing in my apartment?"

This was going to be a long, long day.

Shinichi took a deep breath, mentally bracing himself. "I live there."

"Really? Funny, I could have sworn _I_ lived there."

"You do."

Kaito paused to consider this. "You mean we live there _together_? But I don't remember having a roommate. And there's only one bedroom—and one bed for that matter. You don't sleep on the floor, do you?"

"Uh, no."

Oh god, Shinichi so did _not_ want to be having this conversation. If Kaito remembered this when he got his memories back, he was going to die of laughter.

"We, er, sort of share the bed."

He could practically hear the gears turning in Kaito's head. "I suppose asking you if you're sure would be a little strange. Still, I would have thought I'd remember _that_."

He paused and cocked his head to one side, regarding the detective with a smirk. "Not that I think I'd _mind_."

"…"

_Damn you, Kaito_, Shinichi cursed mentally. Even under the influence of magic-induced amnesia, his lover found ways to embarrass him. On the other hand, this was probably a good sign. At least Kaito wasn't writing him off as a lunatic. Perhaps this wouldn't be as hard as he'd feared.

"I think you must have had an accident this morning and lost some of your memories," Shinichi said, picking his words carefully. "It's hard to explain, but it's really, really important that you get them back."

Something in the way Kaito was looking at him made Shinichi feel like he thought he might be a little crazy—which, by the way, was totally unfair considering which of the two of them was the _real_ madman—but as long as he was willing to humor him, he had a chance. All he had to do was somehow remind Kaito of all the things they had been through together and get him to remember them. It was unfortunate they weren't at home; there, he'd be able to visit places they'd been to together.

Granted, intentional or not, Kaito seemed more than happy to help matters along.

"Are you hungry? I was thinking about going to the café down the street after I get all this stuff packed. You're welcome to accompany me and explain what you mean."

Kaito was giving him that smile he used on people when he wanted them to do something, and the scary thing about it was that it usually worked.

"Umm, sure."

.

Shinichi wasn't sure where to begin. There seemed to be so much that needed to be told. In the end, he settled for starting with a basic outline of the important points and then fleshing out the details, pausing in his narration only for the waitress to take their orders. _Until midnight_, that didn't leave him a lot of time.

"So what you're telling me," Kaito said, stirring the hot chocolate in his mug, "is that you and I are from another world and we were brought here—or rather I was brought here and you found a way to follow me—by a crazy painting who wants to become a real person and wants me here as a kind of magic conduit to let that happen?"

"That about sums it up," Shinichi agreed, trying not to wince at how ridiculous it sounded. He hoped Kaito could tell how honestly worried he was. The magician had always been good at reading people. He needed him to believe him.

There was a long moment of silence in which Shinichi picked at his food and tried not to fidget. Then Kaito looked up from his own plate and asked, "So what do you want to do?"

"You…believe me?"

Kaito shrugged, polishing off the remainder of his order. "Don't know, but this is important to you, yes? And I certainly have no objections to spending more time together. You're interesting."

Interesting, huh? Well, Kaito _had_ always told him he thought he was interesting, though Shinichi had never quite made up his mind whether or not he wanted to know what Kaito found so "interesting" about him. So far, caution had always won out over curiosity.

At the moment, he had more important things to wonder about anyway.

.

After saying goodbye to Riku, Daisuke made his way home slowly, his mind lost in thought. He'd seen Kudou-san and Kuroba-sensei leave the school together, the detective talking almost nonstop—which was pretty strange behavior for the young man in itself.

"I wonder if Kudou-san will be able to get him to remember," he wondered aloud to himself.

/I don't think we need to worry too much about that. In stories, true love can always overcome anything, right?/

"Huh? What do you mean?"

/_Man, Daisuke, could you possibly be more dense?_/

"Hey! That's not a very nice thing to say."

He couldn't see him but he could just tell Dark was rolling his eyes. /_Tch, whatever. Come on, hurry up, we were supposed to be home by now._/

A tall man with black hair just as messy as Daisuke's opened the door for him as he was about to reach for the handle. "Dad!"

Niwa Kosuke greeted his son with a warm but tired smile. "Hey, it's good to see you, Daisuke. You'd better come inside. I have some news you ought to hear."

"Good or bad?" Daisuke asked nervously.

"Ah, a bit of both I'm afraid."

"Yeah?"

His father nodded solemnly, shutting the door behind him and following him into the living room where various books and papers covered the low table. "I went to take a look at those fairytale paintings today," his father began, running a hand through his already tousled locks. "I'm not sure we'll actually be able to seal any of the paintings individually. They're too much of a set, too connected."

Daisuke's stomach dropped. "But then what do we do? We can't just take _all_ of them."

Kosuke shook his head. "No, and I'm not sure we could even if we tried. Their magic is too strong and too—_different_—courtesy, I believe, of that new teacher your mother was telling me about. It would be way too dangerous."

/_But not all of them_,/ Dark mused. /_I imagine our last escapade would have severely drained her dragon. We'll just have to deal and do what we can where she's weak. If nothing else, it will buy us time._/

"Hold on a second," Daisuke piped up suddenly, "what does this have to do with Kuroba-sensei?"

/_His presence here is changing the nature of our magic_,/ Dark supplied. /_I've been sensing it for awhile now. It's not just the fairytales that are being affected. I wonder if she realizes that._/

Daisuke shook his head. This was just too much. Like magic hadn't been complicated enough before. At least back then, Dark and his grandfather had had all the answers.

"Dad, I think maybe I should go check on Kudou-san, just in case he needs our help."

Finding the detective in question proved to be almost too easy, mainly because shortly after he'd started searching, he'd sensed another disturbance not unlike the ones that had plagued the city in the past couple weeks.

Daisuke arrived just in time to grab a flower pot that had been about to teeter off a balcony and drop the few stories to the street below where the detective and magician were about to enter what seemed to be a flower shop. Steadying himself on the balcony with a breath of relief, the redhead glanced around in confusion. He could have sworn he'd caught a flash of silver wings.

/_You weren't imagining it,_/ Dark assured him. /_She's here too._/

Actually, maybe that wasn't so reassuring.

Dropping into a crouch, Daisuke peered through the glass front of the flower shop and over its colorful displays at the two young men now at the counter. They spoke briefly with the clerk then proceeded to wander through the shop towards a section where roses of all breeds had been arranged—yellow and red, white and pink, and even some so dark they seemed almost black. The detective turned anxious eyes towards his companion, but the other only gave a regretful shake of his head in reply.

All of a sudden, a young woman emerged from a door in the back dressed in the green apron of a shop assistant. She glanced about the shop and turned her feet purposefully in the direction of the two men.

/_Daisuke, hurry up and go ask her to help you pick flowers for Riku_./

Bewildered but clearly hearing the urgency in the older thief's voice, Daisuke dropped down into the street and dashed into the flower shop, making a beeline for the shop assistant. "Excuse me, miss, but I really need your help!"

The woman jumped a little before turning and plastering a fake smile onto her inhumanly beautiful face. It was all Daisuke could do not to step back. For just a moment, the eyes that met his had shone silver.

"Can it wait? I'm afraid I have other customers to see to."

The redhead swallowed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Please? I, uh—"

/_Upset my girlfriend and really need a way to make it up to her right away,_/ Dark supplied without missing a beat.

"Upset my girlfriend and really need a way to make it up to her right away," Daisuke repeated before his mind had quite caught up with his mouth. /_Hey! No one's going to believe that_./

/_Why not?_/

/_Because—because… Oh, I don't know, it just sounds ridiculous_./

/_As they say, love can make people do crazy things. Besides, it's just for show. We just needed to stall her_./

Sure enough, peering past the assistant who was not really an assistant at all, Daisuke noted that the other two had already left. The woman favored him with a cool, knowing glare before spinning on her heel and sweeping away with a cold elegance that betrayed her origins. Daisuke didn't linger to watch her, hurrying instead after his departed targets as soon as he could get his feet to move again.

/_Dark, what's going on?_/

/_She's trying to interfere. Looks like we'll have our hands full for the rest of the day._/

.

They had started the afternoon at a flower shop where he knew Kaito had gotten most of his roses since arriving in this world. He'd taken Shinichi to visit it more than a couple times, but though Kaito could recall all the occasions in which he'd been at the store, it was like Shinichi had been blocked out of the scene. The detective supposed he should have expected as much, but that didn't stop it from being a bit discouraging.

Perhaps he should take a different approach and try for something a little closer to home.

With that in mind, the two found their way to a pet store Shinichi had noticed during one of his cases. It was one of many pet stores he'd passed in the city, but this one had stuck in his memory because instead of the usual small, furry animals, its windows had been full of birds. One bird in particular currently occupied his mind.

Kaito surveyed the various cages with curiosity while Shinichi talked with a shop assistant and tugged him deeper into the shop. He'd never been here before and yet something about the place did seem to strike a chord with him. Something about the place made his hands itch. But why? He didn't have any pets. At least he didn't think he did. He wasn't so sure anymore.

"Kaito?"

Returning his attention to his companion, he automatically reached up to accept the fuzzy something that was passed to him. Startled, he looked down into a pair of beady, black eyes. The ball of white fluff cooed and he stared.

"It's a dove," Shinichi said helpfully.

"I can see that," Kaito mused, handling the dove with deft assurance, petting and soothing it as it shifted a little nervously in his grasp.

"Seems familiar?"

Looking back at the detective, Kaito considered the question and nodded slowly. But it wasn't the dove in his hands that tugged at whatever lay behind the shadows in his mind. It was the way Shinichi smiled.

.

Daisuke snuck out of the back of the pet store, having disposed of a tiny, translucent snake with Dark's help moments before. The miniature serpent had been busy trying to unlock cages and goad their occupants into creating mass chaos in the store, but luckily, he'd caught the critter before any real harm could be done.

"Though I don't know why she didn't just send the snake after them," he wondered, getting back on the trail of the two men. "Not that I want her to attack them or anything, but wouldn't it have been easier?"

/_Did you forget about that cross pendant Hiwatari made? Kudou had it when we were in the Sleeping Beauty painting. It's probably still on him. I can't imagine she'd want to risk another zap from that so soon after using all this magic._/

"I suppose that's true." It was one less thing for them to worry about at any rate.

/_Looks like the next stop is going to be a magic show. Huh, good idea._/

Or at least it seemed like it until they got inside and the virtual flood of soon-to-be audience members engulfed them. Squeezed up against the wall, crimson eyes searched frantically for the two he was supposed to be tailing only to find them just in time to see a little girl with silver hair push a little boy between them. The child shrieked in surprise and his mother shrieked with him as she lost hold of him, and then both mother and father were pushing forward to try and prevent their son from being swept away in the rush. The commotion which had managed to separate thief and detective quickly escalated and within moments the laughing, chattering, careless mob completely swallowed them both.

The moment Shinichi had vanished from his immediate vicinity, Daisuke noticed a change in his teacher's demeanor. It was as though something—some emotion perhaps or just some kind of vividness—simply faded away, leaving his face vacant and distant. As though on autopilot, though more likely under the influence of the spell that held him, he turned and started wandering towards the theatre exit.

/_Stop him!_/ Dark hissed from the back of his head, but Daisuke had already begun to move.

Shoving his way through the uncooperative crowd, apologizing left and right for elbowing people in the ribs in order to make room, the redhead reached out and grabbed the older thief's sleeve. "Kuroba-sensei!"

Pausing, the man turned and glanced down at him. "Hmm? Oh, Niwa-kun. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here for the show," Daisuke answered quickly. "Isn't that why you're here?"

That oddly vague expression again. "The…show?"

"Yeah, you know, the magic show. I thought I saw you here with Kudou-san. Aren't the two of you here to watch it together?"

At the mention of the detective, a slight frown flickered across Kaito's face. "I…guess I _was_ here with someone, wasn't I? Funny, it seems so hard to remember."

"I saw you two buying tickets outside," Daisuke agreed, maneuvering to place himself between the other thief and the exit. As he turned, he spotted Shinichi fighting his way back through the press of people towards them and let his shoulders relax in relief. "Oh, here he comes now. I hope you two enjoy the performance!"

Darting back into the crowd to watch from a distance, Daisuke noticed a certain clarity return to the drama teacher's face once the detective stood back at his side. Interesting, but his short conversation with the man had left him more than a bit concerned. Even if Swan wasn't able to directly attack the detective because of the sealing power of that cross pendant, he also didn't seem to be making all that much progress.

/_It's working, you know,_/ Dark informed him matter-of-factly., most likely having read his thoughts

Daisuke halted in his steps. "Really? But…how?"

/_Kudou probably doesn't think much about romance. I guess it doesn't matter what world you're from. Emotions just aren't a detective's strong suit_./

"Are you talking about the whole love breaking the curse thing?"

/_What else?_/ Dark chuckled. /_As I said before, I don't think we need to worry about them. Kudou seems to have forgotten that they were already in love before the enchantment took hold. Even magic can't take that away—suppress it for a little while, maybe, but not for long and certainly not when he's trying so hard to hold onto him. Why do you think Swan's trying so hard to separate them? She's the one who messed up this time. Good idea, but she failed to think things through_./

Something in his alter ego's explanation finally clicked and the redhead's mouth fell open in shock. "You mean—Kuroba-sensei and Kudou-san?"

In the back of his mind, Dark rolled his eyes again and snickered. /_Good job, genius. Took you long enough. Now stop gawking and start moving. We've got to keep our dear Swan occupied until midnight._/

.

Evening was approaching fast and Shinichi was starting to feel more than a bit depressed. He had almost exhausted all the possibilities he'd come up with and he was running out of time. Even though Kaito admitted to feelings of familiarity in certain situations or with Shinichi in general, he couldn't seem to remember anything concrete. He'd even resorted to bringing Kaito to the police station after the magic show to see if that environment would stir up anything KID related.

It hadn't.

Exiting the police station with more than a few odd looks from coworkers who had thought Shinichi was out sick, the detective slowed to a stop on the sidewalk. Almost everything on his mental list had been crossed off by now and it was hard not to feel a bit discouraged.

"Hey, you okay?"

Shinichi laughed tiredly. There was just something terribly ironic about Kaito asking him that question right now. But he couldn't let himself slow down just because he felt out of his depth. This was too important. Kaito was too important.

"I'm okay. Come on, I want you to see something back at the apartment."

Shinichi was so preoccupied with his own misery that he almost failed to notice when Kaito reached out and took his hand as they started towards home. Casting a cautious, sidelong glance at his companion, Shinichi wondered if Kaito had even noticed the gesture. Regardless, he took some solace from it, if for no other reason than that it showed that his partner was still somewhere in there.

Half an hour later, Kaito found himself staring dubiously at a white suit complete with a top hat and—was that a monocle?

"Ah, what exactly am I supposed to do with this?"

"Put it on," Shinichi repeated patiently, turning his back to him and busying himself with organizing the items on top of the dresser. "Your reflexes seem intact so I don't think you'll accidentally trigger anything you might have left in those."

Still skeptical, Kaito ran a hand carefully over the white cloth. All the same, something about the outfit sent a tingle down his spine like excitement. He knew instinctively how all the pieces fit together.

Once that was done, Shinichi dug two of Kaito's black cloaks out from beneath the bed and handed one to the magician. Night had truly fallen now so getting to the museum unseen would not be a problem. Unfortunately, the museum doors were locked. Making a frustrated noise in the back of his throat, Shinichi peered up at the museum tower. If only—

"Need a hand up?"

Turning, he found Kaito crouched on the sill of a window a few feet up, holding out his hand.

"The tower roof, right?"

Shinichi nodded and accepted the hand, allowing Kaito to pull him up. With the thief's assistance, the two reached the roof in no time. It was the place where they had finally met back up after coming to this foreign world.

Kaito didn't say anything as he followed the detective across the roof to the opposite railing. They could see the city clock tower from here and there seemed to be a celebration of some sort going on in the plaza. Lights shone everywhere down in the streets near the tower's base. He didn't know what they were doing here but something about this whole scene—something about that tower and the lights and the moonlight that shone on the white fabric of his current attire—stirred something in his chest. It was almost an ache, but not the bad kind, more the kind of ache that came with happy memories, memories so precious that it made hearts ache because people never wanted to let them go.

Shinichi didn't take his eyes from the sky above the distant tower when Kaito came to stand beside him, draping an arm comfortably across the detective's shoulders. "It's about to start."

And as the fireworks went off, Kaito suddenly tensed and blinked. He looked around in confusion and tightened his grip on the detective beside him—_his_ detective. "Shin-chan? What are we doing here?"

Shinichi jerked a little in surprise and turned to look at him, hardly daring to believe his ears. He had never been so happy to hear that dreadful nickname in his life. "KID?"

Kaito shot him a slightly baffled look at his choice of address—Shinichi had always been good about not using his alias outside of costume—but responded nonetheless. "Yes?"

Hold on a moment. He _was_ in costume. When had that happened?

His bafflement quickly changed to alarm when his companion's eyes began to water and he flung his arms around him and buried his face in the crook of his neck. Wrapping one arm instinctively around his waist, he rubbed soothing circles on his back with the other. "Hey, you okay?"

What the hell was going on? Come to think of it, what the hell had he been doing today?

Shinichi laughed a little hoarsely and pulled away to scrub the relieved tears from his eyes. "It's a long story."

.

"It's over," Daisuke said quietly. "You've lost again."

A few feet away from him on the edge of the roof, Swan stared at the two young men on the museum tower in the distance. Her face was expressionless, framed by long, silver hair that barely stirred in the breeze as though the wind were not quite able to touch it—to touch _her_.

"Next time…"

Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Seeing the two of them together—it just made her feel so _angry_. It just wasn't fair. All those people laughing and celebrating in the streets with one another while all she could do was watch. Oh how she hated them for that.

"You can go now," she said acidly when the redhead made no move to move from his spot, "I'm too exhausted to do anything else right now."

She had used up far too much energy already that day. It was all she could do to stay in this world a while longer to see how the story ended. She might have hated the ending but she had to see it nonetheless. Something inside her wouldn't allow her to do otherwise.

Daisuke hesitated, thrown off by the peculiar combination of venom and despair in her voice. "Why are you really doing all this?"

But she didn't answer, just lowered her head so the curtain of her hair could hide her face. And, as Daisuke watched, her figure dissolved until all that remained was the memory of her presence.

She wouldn't admit that maybe, just maybe, she envied them too.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: Whew, that was hard to write. ^_^


	8. The Princess and the Servant Girl

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>VIII<strong>

**The Princess and the Servant Girl**

Handing in the report for his latest case, Shinichi glanced at the office clock. It was Friday, which was good seeing as it had been difficult to really get any work done with Kaito checking in on him every hour. The magician hadn't wanted to let him out of his sight since the whole curse incident and, all considered, Shinichi was more than happy to let him fuss.

"Weekend plans?" Ishikawa asked knowingly, noting the slight smile on the other detective's face. He'd seen the young man and his companion together often enough to know they were more than just close friends.

"Ah, you could say that." Shinichi didn't know what plans they were exactly, but then that was Kaito for you. "It's not a problem if I leave early today, is it?"

"I don't think so."

"Good, then I'll see you Monday."

He had to get home and change before Kaito got home and decided to pick his clothes for him.

.

"Does Kuroba-sensei seem different today to you?"

Riku glanced up from the copy of the script she was looking over and gave her sister a curious look. "What do you mean?"

Risa was frowning, her lips pursed as she watched their teacher from across the room. "It's hard to say for sure. He just seems…I don't know, distracted maybe."

"He _has_ been making a lot of phone calls," Saehara observed, dragging his desk over to join them. "Who do you think he's calling?"

Riku shrugged, going back to trying to memorize her lines. "Could be anyone. It's not really any of our business."

"You're not curious at all?"

"As I said, it's none of our business." Besides, she had a feeling she knew who Kuroba-sensei was calling.

"Do you think he has a girlfriend?" Risa asked suddenly.

Riku choked. "What? Why would you say that?"

"Well," Risa said in all seriousness, "he seems really happy and he keeps checking the time. And he didn't give Matsuda-sensei a flower before she left like he usually does, so maybe he's thinking about someone special."

"Honestly, you always notice the weirdest things."

"So I'm right?"

"What? No! I mean—oh, I don't know. I really don't think we should be talking about this."

"I suppose," Risa conceded a little reluctantly, glancing back down at her own script. But she couldn't bring herself to just let the matter go. She was _curious_ and, really, what was so wrong with that? It was stranger in her opinion that her sister _wasn't_ curious.

"I say we follow him after class today," Saehara whispered, keeping his voice low so as not to attract unwanted attention. He held up his camera and grinned. "You want to know who it is, right?"

Risa considered this for a moment then smiled and nodded. Yes, she definitely did.

And so when Kuroba-sensei dismissed them for the day, the two packed their things slowly and followed all the other students out into the hallway only to linger in an empty classroom a few doors down. They didn't have to wait long before they caught sight of their drama teacher striding past them down the corridor towards the front door. Exchanging significant looks, they crept out and followed. Out through the school gates and into the streets, across one of the city's many bridges until—until they turned a corner and Kuroba-sensei was just _gone_.

"But this is a dead end," Saehara said, incredulous. "Where did he go?"

.

Kaito dropped down onto the balcony of their apartment, picked the lock and slipped inside. He'd decided to take the fast way home across the rooftops, taking care that no one saw him. It looked like he'd arrived right on time too. He could hear Shinichi moving about the kitchen. Shutting the balcony door behind him, he moved silently across the bedroom and through the open door, a shark's grin plastered across his face.

Shinichi jumped when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped themselves around his waist from behind, almost dropping the spoon he'd been using to stir his coffee. "Kaito! How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that?"

Kaito chuckled. "Probably more times than you can count. Master thief talking here, remember? Old habits die hard."

"Clearly," Shinichi said dryly, but he was smiling.

"Speaking of habits," Kaito started, taking a step back and handing Shinichi a crimson rose with a flourish, "it seems I've discovered some new skills."

The detective accepted the flower and raised an eyebrow. "Seems like an old skill to me."

"Ah, but that's because you think I had it up my sleeve, so to speak."

"You didn't?"

"Nope. It was magic, _real_ magic." At Shinichi's skeptical frown, Kaito held up his hand. "Pick a color, any color that roses normally don't come in."

"Green."

The magician snapped his fingers and conjured up another rose—with jade green petals? Shinichi stared. Carefully taking the flower from Kaito, he examined it from stem to flower, his mouth falling open slightly in surprise. It was _real_.

"You didn't dye it or anything, did you?"

"Of course not. Why in the world would I want a green rose?"

Shinichi shook his head. "I wonder if I should be scared at what this world is doing to you."

Catching the slightly haunted worry that flickered across his partner's face at that, Kaito took the green flower from him and put it on the counter before leaning forward to press a gentle kiss to his lips. "It won't matter as long as I'm still me, right? And you do a great job of making sure of that. Come on, I'd say it's about time we had a bit of a break."

.

Sometimes, it seemed as though sooner or later, people always ended up at the park. After wandering fruitlessly around the city for almost an hour, Risa finally plopped down onto a park bench with a groan. Her feet were getting sore and they still hadn't seen even one hair of their teacher.

"I still can't believe we lost him," Saehara grumbled, peering around at the many other people at the park as though by looking hard enough, their teacher would magically appear before them. "We've looked everywhere. We must just keep missing them."

"Maybe we should just stop," Risa sighed. Her feet were really killing her. Riku had always been the outdoors person, not her. All the walking had pretty much killed her curiosity.

"A good reporter never gives up!"

"Well in that case, you can continue looking yourself. I'm going home and getting a nice, long bath."

And then something to eat. A cold drink sounded extremely attractive at the moment.

With this in mind, Risa forced herself back to her feet and started towards home. Riku probably wouldn't be back yet. She and Daisuke had made plans to go—Risa couldn't remember where. It hadn't seemed important at the time. They'd invited her too but it didn't seem right somehow.

And of course, when you weren't looking for something, it always had a tendency to show up.

Walking past a water fountain downtown, Risa glimpsed a familiar head of disheveled brown hair. Startled from her thoughts, she quickly ducked down behind the fountain, peering through the veil of falling water at the outdoor collection of tables and chairs. Kuroba-sensei was there with someone, but it didn't appear to be a girl. Hold on, wasn't that that new detective that had been with Kuroba-sensei the other day? What had his name been again? She was pretty sure Saehara had mentioned him in before; the aspiring reporter was always the first with the latest news as well as the latest gossip. Kudou Shinichi, yes that was it.

The pair was sitting at the table with several plates before them. It looked like they were partway through a meal. Kuroba-sensei was laughing at something and his companion looked like he was trying to hide in his coffee mug, a dusting of pink across his cheeks evidence of his embarrassment. Kudou-san mumbled something and Kuroba-sensei smirked, leaning across the table to tuck a lock of hair behind the detective's ear.

So Kuroba-sensei hadn't been meeting his girlfriend after all. He'd been meeting his boyfriend. Or maybe that wasn't the right word anymore either; they acted like they had been together for a very long time. The way they interacted with one another spoke of great familiarity, and while she might not have been the brightest person about most things, she was good about things like this—or at least she'd begun to learn to be.

Risa sighed, folding her arms on top of the fountain rim and resting her chin atop them. Brown eyes stared into the rippling waters of the fountain.

It seemed like everyone was getting a special person except her. Kuroba-sensei and Kudou-san obviously loved each other very much, and she'd seen the way Daisuke and Riku looked at one another these days. She wasn't jealous. No, she wasn't really that kind of person. Everyone deserved to be happy. But it did make her feel a bit sad, or maybe a bit lonely. She didn't even have her twin to herself anymore.

Sometimes… Sometimes she just wished that she could have her own story too. That she could have someone special who would give her flowers and want to spend time with just her, someone who would look that happy just because of her.

Like with most water fountains, there were coins scattered all across the bottom of this one. Deciding it couldn't hurt, Risa dug a coin out of her pocket and flipped it, watching it plunk into the water with a tiny splash. And then she stood and continued on her way home.

Behind her, the waters of the fountain continued to fall, cascading from the outspread wings of a pair of swans carved of marble white stone.

.

Kaito had done a lot of exploring in his month alone in their new world. In that time, he had formed a pretty decent mental map of the entire city and picked out favorite spots, interesting haunts, good restaurants, as well as places that reminded him more of home. The last had been very important during those long four weeks.

Now, however, all that exploring was called upon to serve a different purpose. The evening found the two of them lying on the roof of an old church with an excellent view of the sunset out on the distant line of the sea. A warm breeze was still blowing and the stars were just beginning to show.

"This really is an amazing city," Shinichi mused, his arms folded behind his head. "It's like every building, every street, every fountain—every piece of architecture is a serious work of art. It's a real pity we don't have as much of that anymore in our cities, not in the same way anyway."

"Mm, true, though we have the advantage of knowing that our houses aren't going to come to life and eat us one day."

Shinichi grimaced. "Sometimes, your sense of humor is terrible."

"Unique," Kaito corrected smugly, "and that's just one reason you love me."

"Maybe, but I have to wonder why."

The magician chuckled then sighed. "Niwa-kun left a message for us the other day. It looks like they've managed to seal off the Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty paintings, but it's only temporary. The magic in them was exhausted by us "winning" in those stories. But they're going to get strong again if we don't do something."

"Like what?"

"Don't know." Kaito sat up, propping his elbows on his knees. "How many paintings does that leave in the set anyway?"

"Two, _One Fateful Wish_ and _Swan Lake_."

"I don't remember the first one."

Shinichi closed his eyes, trying to picture the painting. He'd had ample time to study them all when he'd gone to return the painting KID had stolen on his first heist in this world. "I think it had two people in it standing on a bridge—or was it the same person mirrored? Yes, I think it was the same woman but mirrored and one was dressed really lavishly while the other wasn't. I think there might have been a man in it too, waiting for them."

Kaito hummed thoughtfully. "So it's going to be that story, huh?"

"What story?"

"My best guess? Cinderella."

The detective turned this revelation over in his head then sighed. "I can't wait until we get home."

"It's sad, you know? It might have been interesting to just live here for awhile—you know, if we had a choice and weren't just here because a crazy artwork is essentially keeping us prisoner."

"The only cell you couldn't open," Shinichi mused, though the humor didn't reach his eyes.

Kaito cast him an offended look. "There's no such thing, Shin-chan, you should know that by now. All prisons have a door and all doors have some way of opening them. Eventually, I'll always find a way."

Once upon a time, Shinichi might have remarked upon his arrogance—his _confidence_, Kaito would have called it. But after knowing the magician for so many years, that all consuming confidence had become oddly comforting, just another aspect of the collection of qualities that made Kaito who he was. He was probably one of the only people in the world who could get away with it and still be charming.

Most of the time.

"So… How exactly are we getting home from here?"

.

Several students had made plans to work on memorizing and speaking their lines that weekend and Risa still couldn't seem to find her copy of the script. She really hoped she hadn't lost it. It wasn't like they could just _buy _another one since Kuroba-sensei and some of her classmates had put it together themselves. Though she supposed she could make a copy of Riku's.

"Riku? Riku!"

Her sister appeared in the doorway of her bedroom, already fully dressed and frowning. "You're still not ready? We're going to be late if you don't hurry."

Risa made a face. "I know but I can't find my script."

"I have it," Riku said matter-of-factly. "You gave it to me last night so you wouldn't forget it, remember?"

Apparently not.

A few minutes later, the two finally made it out the front door and towards the park where everyone had agreed to meet. It had a good amount of space to move around in and they were unlikely to disturb anyone. After a brief meeting, they spread out across the wide expanse of grass to work. Risa and several others were taking the roles of the swans and had some dance steps to start learning and choreographing, but first everyone had to be familiar with their parts.

Picking a spot close to the trees on one side of the park, Risa put her script on the ground and scrunched up her face, trying to remember what she was supposed to say during the introduction scene. She had volunteered to do the opening for the play because she loved the stage set up. It hadn't occurred to her that it meant so many additional lines, but all the same, she was determined to do it well. She had spent so long last night memorizing it and all that energy simply had to have yielded some results!

"Okay, you can do this," she whispered and straightened up. "Oh, you heard my song? It's been such a long time since anyone has been able to hear me sing. You see," she let her voice drop, "I'm under a curse. Actually, it's my second one. It sure seems silly, doesn't it? Getting freed from one curse only to get caught by another one. But then you aren't supposed to have a choice when it comes to curses, especially when you're going to be a part of history—not the boring kind of history either. I'm sure you understand…"

She trailed off, her forehead creasing. What had come next? Perhaps it would help her remember if she closed her eyes. With her eyes shut, she turned her face towards the breeze and took a deep breath before continuing. It went fairly smoothly after that, at least in her opinion. Well, smoothly at least in that she only hesitated a few times before remembering the right words again. It was actually a little easier than she'd expected since Kuroba-sensei had said they were free to edit their lines a little bit so that they could say them more naturally. That was part of good acting.

By the time she reached the end of her first recitation, Risa could hardly keep the smile off her face until she was done—smiling wasn't appropriate to this scene. "…And as all such stories have to begin, once upon a time…"

Opening her eyes, Risa snatched up her script, scanned it, and squealed in delight. Yes! She hadn't missed a single line.

She was so caught up in her own sense of accomplishment that it took her a few moments to realize that someone was clapping. With a gasp of surprise, she spun around to find a boy sitting with his back against a tree, applauding her with a wide smile.

"That was really excellent. Are you practicing for a performance?"

"Um, for a school play." Risa wasn't sure why she felt suddenly so shy. She'd never really been a shy person by nature.

Dappled sunlight fell upon silver hair as the boy cocked his head to one side, examining her with curiosity. "Is that so? That sounds like a lot of fun. What play is it?"

"We decided on a version of the Swan Princess, but I think our teacher is still trying to decide on a name for our production."

"I thought I was pretty familiar with most versions of that story, but I've never heard that opening you were just performing before."

He seemed genuinely interested and Risa found herself smiling back at him. "That's because our class decided to rewrite it a little. Would you like to see the script?"

.

The best thing about weekends where he had no work and Kaito had no urgent plans was that Shinichi got to sleep in. And as long as he made sure there was food available, he didn't have to worry about Kaito trying to cook breakfast and burning the house down around them. The problem with Kaito and cooking was that he couldn't seem to keep from experimenting and then he'd get carried away and everything would go downhill from there. He did occasionally come up with stuff that was actually good as well as edible, but Shinichi preferred not to take those chances with their health.

He listened with half an ear as Kaito moved about their apartment, whistling. The magician was definitely feeling cheerful today. Stifling a yawn, Shinichi snuggled deeper into the warm blankets, fully intending on going right back to sleep. Until Kaito suddenly went still and the whistling abruptly stopped

Forcing his eyes open, he peered blearily towards the door to the living room where he was pretty sure Kaito was. "Kaito?"

There was a moment more of silence then he felt rather than heard Kaito come back into their bedroom. "Something's happening. It's very faint but it's definitely there."

It took a moment for Shinichi's sleep-hazed brain to register what he had just said then he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Where?"

Kaito hesitated, his gaze going unfocused for a moment before he shook his head. "I can't tell. It's like it's coming faintly from everywhere. Maybe Swan-san is getting better at throwing me off. Either that or she's trying a different approach."

"Just what we needed," Shinichi sighed. "And I was hoping for a relaxing weekend."

"Well, no need to start fretting yet," Kaito said, heading back into the kitchen. "No one's screaming and we haven't caught wind of anything drastic. So really, all we can do is watch and wait."

Two things they were both extremely good at.

Over the next several days, however, nothing seemed to change. No one was attacked, no strange cases showed up at the local hospital, and it seemed that life went on pretty much as usual.

In the end, it was Riku who first noticed that something had changed, but in the beginning it didn't seem to be anything bad at all. She had started noticing it a day or two after their rehearsals in the park. Her sister Risa seemed happier than she had been in a long time, less fussy too and more relaxed. When Riku had asked her about it, Risa had told her about Shiro, this boy she had met in the park who was almost as into fairytales as she was. Riku had been concerned to find out that her sister was out alone so often with this person she had never met, but from what Risa had told her, he seemed nice enough. And frankly, she'd been a bit worried about her sister for awhile, so just to see her laughing and smiling so earnestly again was reason enough to not press her for details.

But then… Then Risa had started talking about a ball and Riku was no longer sure what to think.

According to Risa, it was going to be a grand affair with plenty of guests from all over, good food and dancing. It would be formal and she'd get to wear the kind of dress that she had only so far dreamed of wearing to a party—she had gone shopping with Shiro the other day and he had bought one for her. Aside from the fact that Riku felt this whole affair had started way too quickly for her to be comfortable, something just felt strange about how sudden it had all been. Riku had never even heard of the estate where the ball was supposed to be taking place, or Shiro's family who were supposed to own it. And when she'd tried to look them up in the city directory, she hadn't been able to find even something that looked remotely similar. As far as she could tell, the address Risa had didn't exist and there was no one living in the city called Shiro.

The only conclusion she could come to was that this boy, whoever he was, had been lying to her sister. The problem being that when she'd told Risa this, she'd gotten incredibly angry and stormed out of the house in a huff. She reluctantly told Daisuke about it at school the next day and, eventually, the information wound up back with Shinichi when Daisuke had hesitantly called to ask him to investigate the matter.

"So who are we looking for again?"

"Someone going by the name Shiro," Shinichi explained, glancing over the information he had gotten from the elder Harada twin, "a boy that Harada Risa has been seeing lately. Her sister sounded very worried when we spoke."

"Which, of course, is why you agreed to do it even though this sort of thing isn't your usual expertise," Kaito mused.

"You could say that. And I haven't had any cases lately." Which, seeing as he was a homicide detective, was definitely a good thing, if a bit dull.

"So?"

"I think the address she has is actually a real address, or to be more accurate, it _used_ to be a real address—like maybe about a couple decades ago. The place should just be some ruins by now. No one bought the place after the original owners passed away."

"Shall we go check it out?"

"I guess we don't really have a choice."

But there didn't seem to be anything to find. The place had definitely not been lived in for many, many years, but Kaito could imagine that it must once have been quite beautiful. In his mind's eye, he could picture the broken statues as they once had been, the walls of the mansion devoid of ivy with the cracks smoothed out and the worn stones bright and new. It must have been quite the sight to behold, with a garden that had not yet been overrun with weeds.

"Looks like the boy _was _lying," Shinichi muttered, "but something just doesn't feel right here. I mean, why lie?"

"More like if he was going to lie, why not choose somewhere less obviously false," Kaito observed, running his hand over the jagged edges of an angel statue's broken wing.

"I suppose we'd have to meet this person to learn more."

Kaito grinned. Spying on people was something of a specialty, or maybe he should call it a hobby. "Any idea when Risa-chan is supposed to be seeing him next?"

"No, but her sister might know."

And so it was that the following afternoon found magician and detective strolling seemingly casually down a street downtown after class had let out. Riku had managed to get Risa to tell her where she was most likely to go today and the café in question should have been close by. Kaito spotted the long-haired twin from across the street at last and his gaze quickly switched over to her companion only to go blank in shock.

"Is that…Swan-san?"

"What?" Shinichi followed the direction of his stare, squinting. "But it's a guy."

"So? "She" is technically a magical work of art that is really a combination of five art pieces. If you really wanted to get technical, she should probably be an "it". You said yourself there was a man in that painting."

The detective frowned uneasily. "This is bad, isn't it?"

"It could be. You have that sealing pendant on you, right? Good, then let's—"

But before either of them could act, the boy suddenly stood, looking apologetic as he said something to Risa and then left, quickly disappearing into the crowd.

"Damn, do you think he sensed us too?"

"Most probably." Shinichi shook his head, biting at his lower lip. "How are we supposed to explain this to her?"

The problem with explanations was that in order to get your point across, the other party had to be willing to listen. And Risa was having none of it.

"It's not true!" she shouted, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "It's not just a trick, it's not! That's such a mean thing to say."

Stomping her foot, she turned and ran up the stairs. They could hear the sound of a door slamming, presumably to her bedroom.

Shinichi looked helplessly at Kaito. Dealing with people was Kaito's department, not his.

"I'll go see if I can talk to her," Kaito said, moving to follow the girl upstairs. "Though somehow, I don't think she'll want to listen to me either."

Ten minutes later and the magician returned, shaking his head.

"But there has to be something we can do," Riku said, frustrated. There was no way she was just going to stand by and let some painting take her sister away or trap her in some artwork just so it could walk free.

Shinichi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Why couldn't the girl just see that she was in danger? "I'd offer the sealing pendant but I don't think she'd agree to wear it. One thing is for sure though. Whatever happens, we can't let her go to that ball."

Except that by the time Riku went upstairs to check on her sister again, Risa had already gone. Daisuke, Kaito, Shinichi, and Riku scoured the city high and low for her, starting with the ruined estate. But hard as they tried, they couldn't find so much as a trace that she had ever left home.

It seemed they had no choice but to wait for the ball to take place the following night and hope that the ruined mansion would at that time consent to give them a clue. Leaving her guests in the living room, Riku wandered up the stairs and stood in the doorway to her sister's bedroom. It just felt so strange for her not to be there.

"Oh, Risa, what have you gotten yourself into?"

It had been hard to convince Riku to stay behind, but somehow they had managed it. Unfortunately, it had also meant leaving Daisuke with her, partly to make sure they had backup if something went wrong.

There was a full moon that night, and under its light the estate took on a completely different appearance. Truly, it was like they had stepped through a window back into the past. Everything—the statues in the vast garden, the polished front doors with their golden patterns—shone as though they had only just been put in place. Which, Shinichi reflected, they more or less had.

Light spilled from the many windows, illuminating the night as they drew closer. They could hear the sound of chatter and laughter coming from inside. It sounded like a real party, but they had seen too much of the bizarre and impossible here to wonder at how that could be. Magic, as Kaito had always believed and Shinichi had come to accept, could do more than incredible things.

"Does this place look kind of familiar to you?" Shinichi asked suddenly, pausing on the grass a few yards away from the main steps.

Kaito turned to glance at him then back up at the towering building. "I can't say it does."

The detective frowned, shutting his eyes as he tried to remember. "I think—yes, I think the silhouette was in the background of the _Fateful Wish _painting."

"That makes sense. Perhaps this place was what inspired Rulane to paint that particular painting in the first place. No wonder Swan-san ended up here. Strange though, I think we're still in the real world but it feels like we're in a painting at the same time, like they've overlapped."

The detective nodded in agreement. He had his hand flat against the mansion wall and he could feel the old nicks and cracks upon it even though his eyes saw only smooth stone. The surreal atmosphere of the place, the way it made him feel just a bit lightheaded, it all reminded him of how it had felt when they'd gone into the Sleeping Beauty painting after Riku. The brush of a world that was not their own.

Peering through one of the windows into what appeared to be a vast, brightly lit ballroom, Kaito surveyed the gathering of dancers and onlookers with a practiced eye. "It seems our dear couple isn't in there anymore."

"Were there any bridges on this estate?"

"Around back. Come on."

Sure enough, they found the two people they were looking for in the gardens behind the mansion, standing in the middle of a bridge that overlooked a small, manmade lake. Silver hair gleamed oddly bright even in the semidarkness. The boy had his arms around Risa's waist and seemed to be leaning forward.

Shinichi panicked. "Risa? Risa! You _have_ to listen to us and get away from him!"

The two figures pulled apart a little and Shiro turned a frosty gaze towards them. "What are you doing here? You weren't invited."

Kaito grinned his razor-edged KID grin, leaving Shinichi behind with a new burst of speed and vaulting over the railing onto the bridge mere feet from the pair. "Yeah, well, I never wait for invitations."

He started towards Risa but was forced to leap backwards as something heavy crash landed on the bridge between him and his target. Looking up, he found himself staring briefly into the face of one of the stone angels. A stone angel that, more importantly, had been carved carrying a stone staff. Not bothering to stop and think—in his old line of work, you often couldn't afford to—Kaito reacted, bringing his hands up to catch the weapon before it could connect with his head. Directing his gaze past the living statue without loosening his grip, Kaito caught Risa's eye.

"Risa-chan, do you really want to be trapped here forever? Are you prepared to make that kind of sacrifice for the sake of this kind of dream?"

The girl looked frightened and confused, though there was also a slight vagueness in her eyes that worried him.

"Risa?"

She hesitated and looked back up at Shiro when he called her name. Kaito feared that they had come too late, that they would have to find some other way to destroy this particular painting and get her out. He doubted she could really still believe they were lying after witnessing all this, but he knew first hand just how powerful these enchantments could be.

But then her shoulders slumped just a little and she took a step back.

For a moment, silver eyes widened in surprise. Shiro could have grabbed her, could have reached out and pulled her back, but for some reason he couldn't seem to do it. And so, against all reason and expectations including his own, he let her go.

And with another step back, the lights and the glamour faded, receding even as the boy disappeared to leave behind only the ruins of an estate and the memory of its dream.

.

"I don't understand what happened," Shinichi said, frowning. He and Kaito had brought Risa home before returning to their own apartment. He sat on the bed now, staring unseeing down at his notebook. "We didn't do anything. Risa didn't do anything other than walk away, which I'm still not sure why she chose to do. Why? Why didn't the painting try harder to stop us?"

Kaito shrugged from his position at the window. "Maybe something happened during the story that Swan-san hadn't expected."

Shinichi looked confused, but Kaito didn't feel particularly like explaining what he meant. The events of the night had left him feeling oddly down. He was starting to feel almost sorry for the painting really. He wondered if it even realized what it had come so close to finding.

Shutting the window, he joined his detective on the bed, pulling Shinichi back against his chest and burying his nose in his hair, trying to engrave the feeling into his memory along with all the other moments he would never allow himself to forget again.

Some things in the world would always be more powerful than even the strongest of enchantments.

.

Riku hesitated in the doorway, a tray of freshly brewed tea and cake in her hands. "Risa, are you all right?"

Her sister had been oddly quiet ever since she'd gotten back. Kuroba-sensei had explained to her what had happened, but it had left more questions than answers.

Turning away from the balcony door, Risa hesitated then smiled. "I'll be okay."

"What happened?" Riku asked quietly. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but maybe it'll make you feel better if you talk."

Risa stared down into her teacup. She was quiet for so long Riku had almost made up her mind to leave and give her some more space when suddenly, "I think maybe I knew it wasn't real all along. That night I ran away? I went to his estate and he let me stay in one of the guest rooms. There were a lot of other people there, servants, his parents—but no one ever left. And after you talked with them for awhile, you could just start to see something in their faces. It was like they just weren't there, like they weren't really listening. Not because they didn't want to but because they couldn't hear you."

She trailed off but Riku remained silent, waiting patiently for her to piece her thoughts together into words.

"Shiro was different though. He always listened to me." Risa blinked rapidly, her vision blurring. "He might not have been a person like you or me, but I don't think everything was fake either. There were times when we were talking that he'd go all quiet and… I think he was sad too. And sometimes he'd smile at me and—maybe it wasn't all real but sometimes, sometimes there was just something there."

She looked back at Riku. "I couldn't have stayed there. I know that now. But you know what? Even if he wasn't real, not real in the way that I wanted him to be, I'm still glad that I got the chance to meet him. It doesn't matter why it happened. He made me feel special. And I know that someday I'll find someone real who can be like that too."

"Risa," Riku sighed, moving around the table to give her sister a hug. Risa was crying, but Riku had the feeling that she would be all right. In some ways, it seemed like her little sister was growing up.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: I was originally going to make Swan the fairy godmother, but I was partway through writing this chapter and it suddenly struck me that I would find it more interesting if she played the prince. ^_^


	9. Nothing But Names

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>IX<strong>

**Nothing But Names**

"Okay everyone," Kaito called cheerfully over the group of chattering students, "get on the bus please—single file, no crowding. It's time to leave."

"But, sensei," one girl piped up, confused, "where's the bus driver?" They couldn't well leave without the driver, could they?

"No worries. I'll be the one driving."

Shinichi shook his head, following the students onto the bus and taking the seat directly behind the driver. "What am I doing on your class field trip?"

"Keeping me company. And besides, we needed more chaperones and you're startlingly good with kids."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"

"A compliment of course."

Taking a seat beside her twin, Riku peered uneasily towards the front of the bus. "Do you think Kuroba-sensei is allowed to just take us all on a field trip like this?"

In the seat across the isle, Daisuke shrugged. "I'm sure he checked it with the school. I mean, people would wonder if they went to our classroom and it was empty. Right?"

"I suppose."

In any case, it was too late to turn back. The bus engines roared to life and they were off, veering out of the parking lot in a way that had them all wondering whether their teacher was really licensed to drive the thing and out onto the street.

Settling back into his seat and making himself comfortable for what promised to be an indefinitely long ride, Daisuke glanced at his reporter friend with some concern. Saehara had been unusually quiet all morning. It just wasn't like him.

"Is something wrong?"

Still frowning, the brunette slowly nodded. "You know that swan I told you about? That really giant one I took a picture of a couple weeks ago? Well, I _know_ I got a picture of it. But when I got the photos developed, they were empty."

"Maybe you imagined it."

"I didn't! It was there, I know it!"

The problem, Daisuke knew, was that magical, phantom swans didn't have to show up in regular photographs. But that wasn't really an explanation he could reasonably give his friend. So instead, he settled for attempting to change the topic.

Back at the front of the bus, Shinichi peered ahead through the glass. He had a feeling he knew where they were headed. He and Kaito had found the place on a chance excursion a few days before and he'd seen that gleam in the magician's eye that always promised action of one kind or another. "Are you sure this is a good assignment for them? How are we going to keep an eye on all of them?"

"We'll manage," Kaito assured him, turning onto a road that led out of the main city. "We can put trackers on them just to be sure. It's going to be fun and it will teach them more about character. When you get down to it, acting's really all about the character."

It would be a valuable lesson not only about acting but about observation. Shinichi rather thought the whole event sounded a tad too fanciful, maybe a bit silly, but also undoubtedly amusing. Perhaps it was a good thing he'd asked for a day off. And helping to chaperone Kaito's class counted as volunteer work anyway, so it wasn't like he was going on an impromptu vacation or anything.

.

Their destination in question was an old playhouse a little ways beyond the city—or it had once been an old playhouse but now served more as a huge store for stage props both old and new kept in various boxes, spilling off shelves and piled atop metal racks. Shepherding all the students into the open space just beyond the front door which contained a few folding chairs and a single crate turned upside-down so as to serve people as a table, Kaito cleared his throat and waited for silence. When he was sure he had everyone's attention, he swept his arms out to indicate their surroundings. Other people browsing the shop paused to cast them curious looks but he ignored them.

"We've been talking a lot about presentation and done a lot of acting exercises. Now I want you all to put together everything you learned and we're going to play a little game."

Dropping into one of the vacant chairs, Shinichi folded his arms across his chest and leaned back to listen. He already knew the gist of it from having discussed Kaito's plans with him the day before.

"As you can see, this place is full of props. If you can think of a costume, you can probably find it or make it out of something on these shelves. Your job for today is to put together a complete character—who they are, what they look like, their names, their habits, why they're here or their stories, their likes and dislikes, everything that is part of a real, believable person. And you're going to disguise yourself as that person. This place should be more than big enough for you to be able to find a place to switch your disguises without being seen. Once you have your character, you are to start going through this store. Your task is to identify which of the people you see or meet are your classmates while not being recognized yourself."

Kaito paused for a moment to let these instructions sink in before continuing. "The more classmates you can identify, the more points you get. And you'll also get extra points if no one is able to identify you. You can keep notes on your guesses however you like—find something concealable to write it down on, memorize it and write it down after we gather here, whatever works for you that won't get you caught. Does everyone understand the assignment?"

There was a murmur of acknowledgement and Kaito grinned. "Wonderful. Now, if you would each please take one of these little badges here and keep it on your person just in case anyone gets lost or we need to verify anything. Once you have your badge, you are free to begin. You have three hours and then I want everyone to gather back at this spot. It's two o' clock now. The moment the clock strikes five, I want you all to stop whatever you were doing and reconvene. No cheating. Both Shinichi here and I will be watching so we _will_ know if you try to _write_ anything after the deadline or try anything unsporting to uncover your fellow students. And if you have any problems, please talk to Shinichi. He can find me if it's real urgent."

"But where will you be, sensei?"

"I'm going to be in disguise as well."

Because, of course, there was absolutely no way Kaito would miss out on a game like this. It wasn't as challenging, perhaps, as impersonating people that other people knew, but it had a definite edge in the creativity department that he didn't often get to expand on these days.

He waited until the last student had picked up a badge in-built with a tiny tracking device and vanished into the depths of the store before turning to Shinichi. "So will you be all right? You're welcome to play too, you know."

"I think I'll stick with the guessing part," Shinichi assured him, a notebook already in his hand. "I'm sure you'll make it interesting."

Kaito smirked. "Don't I always?"

And disappeared in a puff of colored smoke.

.

Riku picked her way through the cluttered isles, glancing at and quickly discarding various pieces of clothing as she went. She had no idea what kind of costume would be best. Kuroba-sensei was always emphasizing the importance of finding personalities that you were comfortable with. In this case though, perhaps it would be smartest to go with something that would make it easier to approach other people without seeming strange. Maybe someone who wore the kind of clothes it would be easy to hide a notebook in, and perhaps with nearsighted tendencies so she could look closely at other people's costumes without standing out too much.

That decided, Riku picked up a dusty, spangled shawl from a bin and started to rummage through the boxes of smaller miscellaneous odds and ends beside it. Sunglasses, a strange looking comb, plastic glasses, an old broach—that could work—a beaded necklace, a slighted rusted harmonica, and—ah, perfect. A pair of simple, wire-rimmed spectacles.

And now for something to make her hair look more gray. She'd tried on a wig during class before but it had itched like crazy and there was no way she was subjecting herself to three hours in one.

A few isles down, Risa had fallen in love with a rack of elaborate dresses and gowns. There were old fashioned ball gowns in fabrics that shimmered beautifully in the dim light, more modern designs in imitation silk and gauze, and even a dress covered from top to bottom in tiny, white beads made to look like pearls. She simply had to try _all_ of them on. So glancing about to make sure no one she knew had been searching for props nearby, Risa squared her shoulders and proceeded to push the entire rack into one of the changing rooms.

Good thing the rack had wheels.

On the other side of the first floor, Daisuke still had no idea what he was looking for. He wandered aimlessly amidst stands of old coats and shelves stuffed with hats, completely stumped. Disguises really weren't his strong point. Neither was acting for that matter. He wasn't good at telling lies. He'd never really considered that a fault before.

/_Just pick something inconspicuous—something plain and ordinary,_/ Dark advised. /_You can try to avoid being identified by just staying out of people's way. You've had enough practice sneaking around and this place is full of hiding places. And while you're at it, you can try to pick out everyone else._/

"But do you think that would be cheating?" he asked anxiously. After all, that didn't really seem like acting, not exactly.

/_Not at all. Think about it as being a spy. That's a kind of character too, is it not?_/

The redhead considered this for a moment then gave in. It really was the easiest way to go. So now, how to find something that would look ordinary on him rather than ridiculous. Oh, and he'd probably need some way to hide his bright, dead-give-away hair.

At least with his hair as short as it was, finding a suitable wig should be easy enough.

.

Shinichi was actually, a little to his surprise, enjoying himself. Mostly because a lot of the disguises he had seen so far were just plain hilarious, especially after having spent time chasing Kaitou KID. You never really appreciated something done well until you'd seen it done badly.

He had spent ten minutes watching a boy struggle into a makeshift suit of armor he'd found amidst a collection of mock weapons and medieval helmets. It had been no easy task. Fake or not, the armor was heavy and fairly realistic. And only after the whole ordeal did the boy realize he would have to walk around in it for the next three hours. The heat and the weight aside, he had to learn _how_ to walk first. Somehow, Shinichi didn't think he'd quite grasped the point of Kaito's exercise.

Another girl had done a fairly good job posing as a wizened and grouchy old man with her hair already so pale it seemed practically white, except that she'd forgotten to take the golden pin she'd been wearing earlier out of her hair. Grouchy old men didn't wear delicate, golden pins in their hair, at least not usually.

Moving around a stack of boxes overflowing with gaudy jewelry, Shinichi raised his eyebrow as he spotted another student hurrying past the isle he was in. The boy had chosen a coat so long it dragged along the ground behind him with a collar high enough to cover his mouth and a deep hat that kept slipping down over his eyes. Well, Shinichi supposed it _was_ hard to tell exactly _who_ was under it all, but seriously. Talk about a costume that screamed suspicious. He looked like a child trying to play the part of a detective in a really bad movie.

And what a lot of people didn't give away in their disguises, they tended to give away when they started to converse. Kaito really hadn't given them a lot of time to prepare—that hadn't been the point. But the result was a certain trend towards hesitation or over dramatics. Shinichi's favorite amateur, though, had to be this one girl who had decided to act as a basketball player with a broken arm in a cast. Rather than try to talk people into revealing their identities, she asked people to sign her cast. Some people were caught off guard and accidentally started to sign their real names. Some people didn't, but handwriting was hard to change and Shinichi suspected she had a pretty good idea how most of her classmates wrote. At least judging from the gleam he'd spotted in her eyes.

In the end, however, finding Kaito proved to be the only real challenge. Not that Shinichi had really expected anything else. Expertise and extensive study in the field aside, Kaito had far, far more experience. Always thorough and attentive to detail, even in creating his own character to become, he was nothing but convincing. Anyone but Shinichi would probably never have been able to tell the difference.

When the three hours finally drew to a close and everyone gathered once more at the front of the store, Kaito rejoined them and they compared notes. Most of the students had managed to identify at least half of their fellow classmates, give or take two or three. Unsurprisingly to Shinichi, the girl with the cast had won out with a final tally of twenty out of twenty-four. For her efforts, Kaito rewarded her with tickets to a concert that weekend.

At last, when everyone was back in their normal outfits, Kaito raised one finger and smirked. "Bonus question, boys and girls. Who was I?"

Confused silence greeted his question.

"Hint, I spoke with all of you at least once."

Another few minutes dragged by as people tried to sort through their memories of the past few hours. A few tentative guesses were offered but Kaito only shook his head. After this had gone on for awhile, Shinichi cleared his throat and pulled out his notebook.

"Yes, Shin-chan?"

"There was the store assistant and then the crone, that depressed actor, the father with the baby, and the old man with the walker."

The students stared.

"Well done," Kaito crowed, absurdly pleased, "six out of seven. I was the store owner too. Okay class, it's time to head back."

The bus was mostly quiet on the way back with everyone worn out from the afternoon's exertions. It had definitely been an interesting and educational experience. Though mostly, what they learned was that their drama teacher and his friend were…somewhat more than a little strange.

.

The moment Daisuke closed the front door behind him, he heard his mother calling from the kitchen. "Dai? Your friend dropped something off for you. It's on the living room table."

"All right! Thanks!"

A little confused as to who would be dropping off anything for him, the redhead made his way into the living room. The item proved easy enough to spot. It was the only thing on the table, a white rectangle of folded paper.

"It's a letter from Hiwatari," Daisuke said in surprise. He had noticed that the blue-haired detective hadn't been in class that day, but then missing class wasn't all that unusual for Hiwatari Satoshi.

/_Yeah? What does it say?_/

"He's leaving the city? But I thought he just got back."

Curious, Dark peered through the redhead's eyes at the message—the note really—written almost sloppily as though the sender had been in a great haste to be off. It was addressed to the both of them, short and to the point, if more than a little cryptic.

'_Something big is going to happen soon, I can feel it. I'm not sure exactly what it is but all the artworks in the city are getting stronger. I'll be leaving the city for now. I don't think it would be a good idea for Krad to be here when it comes.' _

"I wonder what he means," Daisuke mused. But Dark didn't answer.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: This was more of an intermission chapter. I wanted something fun before things get serious again for the main event. ^_^


	10. A Mortal Life

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>X<strong>

**A Mortal Life**

Preparation for community events was always hectic, and for one as large as the art festival apparently was in this city, it was nothing short of chaos. It seemed as though every shop and school and other organization had turned out to contribute. Even the people working at the police stations had turned out to take part, and it wasn't just for the sake of security.

Shinichi had been shocked when he arrived at work that morning to find the place covered in brightly colored streamers and bedecked with paper flowers. For a moment, he thought Kaito had taken the place over and he scrambled to try and remember if the date belonged to anything special he might have forgotten about. But then he'd caught sight of all his coworkers moving boxes of glittering masks and generally helping with the décor. And even with Kaito's persuasive prowess, he didn't think the magician could get every single person in the office to pitch in like this—or if he had, he didn't think everyone would be looking so excited or cheerful. Normally, when Kaito was done persuading people, they tended to look a bit dazed or perhaps a bit frightened if the magician had been having a bad day.

That was when Ishikawa had told him about the upcoming art festival.

"It's practically the biggest festival of the year," the older detective had explained from beneath a hat that looked like it was drowning under plastic fruits and ribbons.

Noting Shinichi's stare, he laughed sheepishly. "My daughter made this for me. Her school decided to focus on headwear this year."

"So then what exactly are we supposed to be doing?"

"Whatever you want really. You're not on the security staff for this year. So I guess you can think about it like a vacation. If there's some group working on something you're particularly interested in, you can go lend them a hand."

Shinichi took another look around the police station and decided that whatever he did, he was not going to stick around and get dragged into turning the place into a circus.

Of course with Kaito swiftly making himself aware of this world's customs, that simply meant helping with the circus elsewhere instead.

"I thought the performance wasn't going to be until tomorrow."

"It's not," Kaito agreed, "but we still have to make sure the stage is set and all the equipment is working properly. And then I think the rest of the school wants to set up some booths—games and snacks, and that sort of thing. I volunteered to help with that too."

"_Why_? It looks to me like you've got more than enough on your plate already." Shinichi eyed the stage in front of them. When it came to performances, Kaito always went all out. But Shinichi thought it was going a bit far to build an actual, makeshift lake in the middle of the schoolyard. It looked like it had probably once been a temporary swimming pool only now it had sheets of glass or plastic placed at strategic places so as not to be too conspicuous while providing the actors and actresses places to stand. Shinichi just hoped Kaito had made his students practice enough so that nobody would fall in—and that if anyone _did_ fall in, that the kids all knew how to swim.

"I wanted the whole area around here to match the theme," Kaito explained as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And I can't do _that_ easily if I don't have a say in everything."

"And that's why I'm here." Because no matter how good Kaito was, even he couldn't be in two places at once.

"Exactly. I need someone to help that I can rely on to pay attention to the details. You even get to pick where you want to lend a hand."

"Thanks," Shinichi said dryly. Though all the same, "It looks like it should be quite a spectacular performance."

"Not as spectacular as I wanted it to be," Kaito sighed wistfully.

"Yeah?"

"Watch this." Kaito vaulted onto the stage and made a running leap towards the pool. Instead of landing on one of the glass paths as Shinichi had expected, his feet landed with a splash upon the water—and stayed there. Spinning around, Kaito grinned and held his arms out. "See? This would have been so awesome, but I guess it's a lot harder than I thought."

"Do you have invisible wire strung beneath the surface or something?" Shinichi asked, peering at the water that lapped at Kaito's shoes with curiosity.

"Maybe and maybe not. Join me out here and I'll tell you."

"Ah, on second thought, don't we have a lot of work to do?"

Kaito's enthusiasm plus the eagerness of the students proved to be infectious. And really, there was something incredibly satisfying about being part of such a big project. Solving murder cases helped bring people closure. Putting together a beautiful work of art and creating a festival worth remembering made people happy. And he'd learned long ago how important that actually was.

Still, that wasn't to say it wasn't exhausting work.

Early noon found magician and detective standing in line before a food stand that had been set up just outside the school gates. Whatever it was selling, it smelled wonderful.

"I'm a little surprised that you didn't arrange to have your own part in the play. It's unlike you to give up that kind of opportunity." Shinichi mused, stretching and stifling a yawn. He really needed a nap.

Kaito shrugged. "Hey, it's the students' play. I've arranged for my own show afterward."

"That would explain it. A magic show, I presume."

"Naturally."

"Which I am _not_ going to take part in."

"Aww, Shin-chan! You should feel honored! You're the only person in the world that I'd willingly share the spotlight with."

Shinichi snorted. He still had nightmares about last time he had "shared the spotlight" with his evil, conniving partner. But before he could reply, a sharp tug around his neck made him jerk around in surprise.

"Hey!" His hand flew up to his neck only to find the chain that had been there missing. "Kaito! Someone just stole the cross pendant!"

"Already found him," Kaito said grimly. "Wait here."

And he took off, darting into the crowd after the fleeing figure of a small boy. He didn't bother with shouting after the thief. As a not-so-former thief himself, he knew better than anyone how pointless _that_ was. Most thieves would probably just run faster. Instead, not taking his eyes from his target, Kaito chose a faster route—over the tops of people's heads. Ignoring the startled cries he left in his wake, he finally landed in front of the boy, cutting off his escape and grabbing his wrist.

"Hey, I believe you have something that belongs to me." Well, it belonged to Shinichi, but that pretty much amounted to the same thing.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"No?" Kaito raised one eyebrow and used his hold on the boy's wrist to turn his hand over and force open his fist. A silver, cross-shaped pendant on a broken chain glittered as it dropped towards the ground only to be snatched from the air by the magician's other hand. "So then what's this? Fancy that, it looks just like the pendant my Shin-chan just lost. I was under the impression it was one of a kind. Mind telling me where you got it?"

The boy opened his mouth to lie, but stopped when he finally met Kaito's eyes. The magician might have been smiling, but his indigo gaze gleamed dangerously in a way any of the officers who had ever chased after KID would have known well. The boy gulped and looked down.

"You can take it. It wasn't my idea to steal it anyway."

"I wasn't asking your permission," Kaito said dryly. "So tell me, whose idea was it?"

"I don't know. She didn't tell me her name. She just gave me some money to get that pendant and throw it in the sea."

She? It didn't necessarily mean anything. There were plenty of "she"s in the city. But Kaito had been around detectives too long to believe in such coincidences.

Damn.

Letting the boy go, Kaito had just begun to turn back towards the spot where he'd left Shinichi when that lightheaded, detached feeling hit. When it finally cleared, everything around him had changed.

He could no longer hear the laughter, shouts, and conversation that had filled the air before. The street, previously overrun with enthusiastic townsfolk, was now completely empty. Well, okay, empty wasn't exactly the right word. Upon closer inspection, Kaito could pick out various birds amongst the discarded decorations. He stared, his mind working to comprehend exactly what it was he was seeing.

Where the street had once been full of people, now it was full of swans.

.

Daisuke had been working alone in one of the classrooms which were being turned into part of a funhouse when the dizziness struck. All the desks had been moved into one of the unused rooms and he had just secured the last mirror to the wall. That was why, when he was finally able to right himself and despite the lack of other people in the room, he noticed exactly what had happened to him right away.

He gaped at the bird in the mirror whose beak hung open in response. He didn't look exactly like a normal swan—there was still some red on the top of his head—but that wasn't the point here.

"Ah! This is terrible! What happened?"

"Don't know, but I have a good guess."

The sound of that voice in his ears and not in his head had the new swan swiveling its head around, startled. "D—Dark? But how?"

The elder thief stood examining his own hands with some interest. Somehow, he and Daisuke had been separated and it appeared the body he now had was very real. It had to be related to the magic that he could feel sweeping over the city, the same, almost unfamiliar twist that had been in the fairytale paintings ever since the arrival of the phantom thief in white.

"I'm guessing you're not the only one who was turned into a swan. It feels like she's making a move on the city itself."

The question was—how were they going to change everyone back.

"Come on, Daisuke, I think we'd better find Kuroba."

.

It was a testament to just how many seemingly impossible things had happened to them over the course of their stay that Shinichi's only real reaction upon discovering that he was suddenly several feet shorter and covered in feathers was a brief thirty seconds of shock. His first impulse was to find Kaito and try to figure out what the hell was going on. And he had hopped and skittered over several meters before he remembered that he had wings now. And really, these short, webbed feet were seriously not designed for running.

Of course, just because he suddenly had wings didn't mean he automatically knew how to use them.

Kaito grunted and staggered back as something white tumbled into his chest. Wrapping his arms around it to prevent whatever it was from colliding with the ground, he straightened and looked down to find himself holding a small sized swan. It didn't seem to mind that he was holding on to it, relaxing against him with an oddly familiar sounding sigh of weariness followed by an annoyed grumble about how flying really shouldn't be this tiring. The wheels turned in Kaito's head and he began to examine the bird more closely.

"Uh, Shin…chan?"

"Who else would it be?" the swan grumbled, ruffling its feathers. "What in the world is she thinking? I thought she wanted to be human?"

"Well, she wasn't having a lot of success getting someone to switch places with, was she? I guess she decided to go for a more straightforward approach."

"What, like hold the entire city for ransom?"

Kaito didn't answer. When Shinichi turned his head to peer questioningly up at him, he suddenly found the magician petting the top of his head, a strange grin plastered across his face. "What?"

"Aww, it's just so cute how you still have some feathers sticking up on the back of your head. Makes you look just like you."

"Kaito…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We have more important things to be talking about right now." Sighing in mock resignation, Kaito turned and picked up the cross pendant from the ground where it had landed. "Do you think this can change you back?"

"I don't think so, but it wouldn't hurt to try it."

Reluctantly, Kaito set Shinichi on the ground and took a step back. The chain of the necklace was broken, but he could temporarily fix it with a bit of spare wire. That done, he carefully draped it around the swan's long neck. For a minute, neither of them moved. And then without warning, the bird shuddered and began to keel over.

"Shinichi!" Snatching the necklace off him hurriedly, Kaito sat down and gathered the swan into his lap. Shinichi was shivering violently and his head rested limply in the crook of Kaito's arm. He didn't bother asking if he was all right. Obviously, he wasn't.

"Ugh, and I thought I was tired before," Shinichi groaned, shutting his eyes. "I feel ill."

Not sure what else to do, Kaito tucked the pendant in his pocket and gently stroked the curve of the swan's neck and back. It was a pity the detective hadn't turned into a dove instead. He knew how to work with and take care of doves.

That was how Dark and Daisuke finally found them. Touching down on a clear patch of street, Dark called out, "Hey, you two okay?"

"That depends on your definition of okay," Kaito sighed. Getting to his feet, he cradled Shinichi protectively against him. "We've got some major problems."

"And they're about to get worse," Dark said, inclining his head towards the seaside end of the street. Only there were mountains in that direction now, and as Kaito turned for a better look, his foot splashed in more than an inch of water. Water gushed from the various fountains about the city, overflowing and rushing through the streets. As the water levels rose steadily and swiftly, Dark took to the air again and Kaito made for the nearest roof.

Perched atop a multilevel department store, the magician surveyed the city laid out around them and swore. It reminded him of the city of Venice, or more like a city after a violent and recent flood. Almost all the streets had been submerged beneath several feet of clear, rippling water. The area around the city had changed as well, evidenced by the new mountains where the sea should have been. In the distance, Kaito thought he could see a castle glittering in the sunlight in place of the Modera Museum.

"Welcome to Swan Lake," he muttered. Raising his voice when Dark landed beside him, he continued, "Any idea how the story is working this time?"

Dark started to reply but stopped when the swan with the red crest swooped down about their heads, piping, "It's like one huge lake! And there's this huge swan in the water before the castle—what used to be the museum plaza. I think it might be _her_."

Dark nodded grimly. "It'll be her all right. And judging from the fact that us thieves are the only people left, either she can't affect us in the same way, wants us the way we are for some reason, or both."

Kaito chuckled darkly. "I say we owe Swan-san a little visit then."

For his part, Shinichi remained quiet as the two phantom thieves made their way towards the castle along their chosen routes above the city. Aside from the fact that he still felt weak—the pendant had pulled quite a lot of energy out of him—he needed time to just think. Below them, he could hear the frantic cries and beating wings of the city's other inhabitants, mixed with occasional honks and loud splashes. He hoped Daisuke's family was taking the change better as they would probably need people with level heads on their shoulders. The redhead had decided to head home for now and check on them.

They had been calling the overarching collective presence of the fairytale paintings "Swan" for awhile now. And Daisuke had just confirmed that in this enchanted city, she wore a form that matched her namesake. It had never occurred to him before now what the implications of that were, what part that meant she now played. No, he didn't like where this line of thought was headed at all.

The massive, silver swan didn't look up as they landed on the front steps of the castle, though she spoke before any of them could open their mouths. "I've been waiting for you. Don't you find my new city beautiful?"

"It could be worse," Kaito said, his posture casual despite the tension Shinichi could sense beneath that façade. "But it could also be better."

"We settle for what we can," she replied, sounding deceptively amiable. "There will no longer be any separation between this world and mine. I should have done this before, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted. Still, I shall make do. And you can't break this spell like you did my other enchantments."

"And why's that?"

Shinichi stirred, lifting his head to regard the silver swan. "Because she's the key character in the fairytale this time."

Which meant that to break the spell on all the swans, someone would have to fall in love with her. Something that was highly unlikely considering the only two people remaining capable of filling that role.

"I wanted to give you a choice, since it will make life easier for me if I don't constantly have to fight you." The silver swan inclined its head towards Kaito at last. "If you promise to leave me and my new world alone from now on, I'll make the necessary arrangements in the story for you to turn your beloved permanently human again. If not," she shrugged her wings and ducked her head down to pull out a few stray, loose feathers, "then I suppose life will have to be difficult for both of us."

"Have you forgotten about me?" Dark interrupted, folding his arms across his chest.

"Of course I haven't, but I assumed the choices available to you were obvious."

She didn't elaborate but she was right and Dark did know what she meant. Though unlike her, he also knew that it would turn out to be no real choice at all. Because he wasn't like her, even though they had come from and were part of the same world, and that made all the difference in the end.

"I'll give you some time to make up your minds."

They left the castle much more slowly than they had arrived, each immersed in their own thoughts. They really needed to just sit down somewhere and try to figure things out. And by silent agreement, it would probably be best to do so at the Niwa residence where they could see if anyone else had ideas to offer.

"What did she mean," Shinichi asked suddenly, peering up at Dark, "by your choices?"

"Oh, that?" The thief folded his wings and dropped down to walk on the roof beside Kaito. "I guess you could say that we're a lot alike, at least in so far as we both originate from powerful works of art. This means that we have some unusual abilities, but it also means that we're bound by certain limitations."

"The whole family bloodline curse thing."

"Exactly. Usually, I'm not able to move around freely on my own like this."

To have their own lives, be able to really make their own choices, go where they wished… Well, it was a wonderful dream if you didn't care about the sacrifices and consequences it had for the people around you. But Dark wasn't one of those people and had no intention to start now.

"Though she was wrong to call it a choice, not when I already made my decision before the choice was even an option."

"I see."

Because a life that you had to exchange others for would never really be your own.

.

Finding the Niwa house had proved slightly more difficult than they originally anticipated as almost all the buildings had been changed by the magic of Swan Lake. Upon reflection, this was probably a good thing. At least if—when—they managed to return everything to normal, the inhabitants wouldn't have to worry about water damage. In the end, they recognized their destination by the collection of swans gathered upon the balcony, which was now twice its previous size and attached to an entire complex of buildings that had probably once been their neighborhood.

Dropping onto the railing then down onto the new balcony floor, Kaito counted a grand total of seven swans not including the one in his arms. Well, it wasn't like there was any point at the moment in trying to keep secrets. And with the exception of Saehara—he was pretty sure the swan with the camera still hanging from around its neck was him—everyone present had already been involved in one way or another.

It seemed that some explanations were in order.

"I can't be stuck as a swan for the rest of my life!" The swan with the camera flapped its wings in agitation, hopping from foot to foot. Kaito was inclined to laugh at the sight, except that it didn't seem quite appropriate to the moment. "How am I supposed to be a great reporter if I'm a bird? Nobody's going to listen to a bird."

"Well, it means you can probably get into places you wouldn't otherwise have been able to, and move faster too once you've mastered how to fly."

"How can you say that, Daisuke? You can't honestly be okay with this."

"Well, no, of course not. I just wanted to look on the bright side."

"So then," Riku cut in thoughtfully, "does that mean we'll all turn human once night falls?"

"Guess we'll have to wait and see."

"A bit of focus here please," Kaito said, raising his voice slightly. It felt strange to be the direct one, but then that was the problem with working in large groups. "In case you haven't noticed, Swan-san has oh-so-graciously left us with very few options here."

"What about the cross pendant?" Shinichi suggested. "If we can find an opportunity to put it on her, it might weaken her enough for the _Swan Lake _painting to be sealed."

"Maybe," Dark said, but he sounded doubtful. "I'm not sure if that will work though. Last time we tried, her magic mixed with Kuroba's repelled mine as long as a story was still in progress."

"Meaning," Shinichi sighed, "that we really don't have _any_ viable options at all."

"For now," Kaito reminded them, feeling the need to express some optimism in the face of such depressing conclusions. "We have a few days to make up our minds. If we keep our eyes and ears open, I'm sure we'll come up with some solution that we can all live with."

"Looks like that's all we can do for the moment."

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>.<br>**


	11. Dreaming With You

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>XI<strong>

**Dreaming With You**

Evening fell and Kaito followed the swans down to the bottom floor where he sat upon the new building's front steps, his feet on the step right above the water. By now, the street in question was completely unrecognizable with old houses reconstructed into the kind of semi-fantastical medieval designs you only ever read about in stories, and yet… And yet he had to admit to being able to see a certain beauty in it all despite the haunting quality to it.

At the same time, that private acknowledgement irritated him because it served as a reminder of how much control she had here, just how much this had become _her_ world.

"What's on your mind?"

Kaito glanced back at Shinichi who had paddled up next to the steps, but before he could speak he caught sight of something silver in the water. With a shriek, he was up the stairs so fast it felt like he'd teleported there.

"A—a fish!"

Shinichi sighed. Of course, the only thing in the world that could make Kaito react like _that_. Picking out the tiny, inoffensive, silver creature in question, Shinichi considered it for a moment then snaked his head forward and snapped with his new beak.

"There, it's gone. Now will you please sit back down so we can talk?"

Kaito stared at him, wide-eyed. "You _ate_ it."

"Yeah? So what?" Shinichi rinsed his beak a little self consciously. "I was hungry anyway."

"But it was _raw_."

"So is a lot of sushi. And besides, I'm a swan. Swans eat fish raw."

Kaito shuddered in horror at the mere thought but eventually made his way back down to the edge of the water. "Now that you mention it, we haven't had anything to eat since breakfast."

"Maybe you should go get something. It won't make night fall any faster if you sit here and watch me."

"Nah, I can wait. Once everyone's human, we can go find something proper to eat together."

Before Shinichi could say anything in reply, a faint, silver light swept across the water, spreading outward from the castle like someone had dropped silver dye in the lake. And as the light touched his feathers, Shinichi's form seemed to blur and shift in Kaito's vision, whiting out and dimming down again to leave the original, black-haired young man where the white swan had been. Shinichi blinked in shock for a moment then yelped as the magic faded and he abruptly dropped into the water with a loud splash.

"Shinichi!"

Before Kaito could dive in to look for him, the detective emerged treading water and shaking water out of his eyes. "I'm okay. It was just really sudden."

"I'll say."

Shouts and splashes could be heard from either end of the street and Kaito hoped that everyone in the city knew how to swim, or had been drifting next to someone who did. Shinichi made his way over to the steps and Kaito helped him onto them.

"I was thinking about taking a look around the edges of this place," Shinichi said, shivering and plucking at his wet clothes. "Hey, do you think you could magic these dry or something?"

"Hmm." Kaito blinked then narrowed his eyes, staring hard at him. Shinichi shifted a little nervously under the not-really-unaccustomed scrutiny but before he could speak, something in the atmosphere _changed_. It wasn't anything he could see per say, but he _felt _it like a warm tingle in the air. And when he moved to run a hand through his hair, he found that it was as though he had never fallen into the water at all.

"I'd say it looks like the answer is yes," Kaito said cheerfully, taking his hand and starting up the stairs. "Food first and then perhaps another visit to the castle for investigative purposes is in order."

Shinichi agreed, but before he could voice any opinions on the matter, he was cut off by an all too familiar voice. The voice echoed through the streets. Shinichi turned his head sharply, searching for their source. Without a word, Kaito tugged on his hand and pointed up.

High in the darkening sky above the city, the shape of a massive, silver swan shone momentarily before assuming the form of a woman with silver hair that flowed about her like the wings she no longer had.

"I want to welcome all of you to your new city. As you can see, we are now in the middle of a lake. To assist you, I have provided boats at regular intervals throughout each district. Unfortunately, neither you nor I can leave this place now. Our lives are all bound to the magic of this lake, and so while we may travel a little distance from here, the lake will always eventually pull us back. However, within this place, you may choose to be whatever you wish to be. Whatever you desire, if it does not disrupt the order of my home, ask me. And as long as you are within my city, I shall do my best to grant it."

She paused, perhaps to allow them all to process her words before continuing. "I will be holding a party at the castle tonight. You are all welcome to join me."

With that, she smiled—a brilliant but unreadable sort of smile that reminded Shinichi of the way Kaito smiled when he wanted something from you. Then she vanished and the lights in the castle windows went on, a glittering beacon to mark the center of a lake that currently served both as their own little sanctuary and their own little prison.

.

"People are starting to call her the White Lady."

"Should be "silver" but I guess that doesn't have the same kind of ring to it," Kaito mused.

"People can't really be thinking about just accepting her proposal, can they?" Shinichi asked, though he felt a little uncertain. After all, she was offering them all their _dreams_. It probably wouldn't matter right away that all they would be in the end were still dreams. It took something more than cleverness to see the difference, not just a clear mind but perhaps a clear heart—at the risk of sounding ridiculously dramatic about the whole situation.

Daisuke shrugged, seated across from them at the kitchen table. "What choice do we have?"

"What about the sealing pendant?" Shinichi suggested. "It couldn't break the spell on me but maybe it can weaken her."

Kaito picked at the food on his plate, frowning. "But this isn't like when we faced off with that snake. We're in her world. I'd imagine she wouldn't let us get close enough to try. And I have to wonder what would happen to us all, caught here in her world, if she were suddenly to get weak. Or what if we try to use the pendant on her and she decides to engineer it so someone dies? It seems to me like it would be perfectly within her power here to do so."

"I don't think she would do that, at least not at this point."

"But _what if_?"

Shinichi didn't answer. Kaito's face had gone completely blank. It was only because he knew the magician so well that he could tell Kaito was starting to grow agitated. Quite understandably. No one liked having someone else wield so much power over the people they cared about, but the two of them had come to hate it on an entirely different level.

Instead of answering his question for which he really had no answer anyway, Shinichi took a gulp of his coffee and sighed. "I wonder how everyone else is doing."

From the other side of the doorway, they could hear Emiko humming to herself as she explored her new kitchen. The woman seemed remarkably unfazed by all this and her approach to dealing with it consisted of carrying on as though nothing had changed. Shinichi wondered if it was her undying admiration and confidence in Phantom thieves that allowed her to remain so carefree. Or perhaps it was her delight at having—technically—_two_ sons now that overrode any initial worry.

"Do you still want to check out the city boundaries?" Kaito asked abruptly. He shifted restlessly in his chair. He needed to get some fresh air and settle his thoughts.

Shinichi nodded and stood. "Niwa-kun, could you please thank your mother for us and let her know we're headed out for awhile? I don't know if we'll be long."

Though judging by Kaito's current mood, they probably would be. It was always a little unnerving when Kaito actually got angry, it happened so rarely.

Dark and Daisuke's father had left earlier to do their own investigations concerning the fate of the few fairytale paintings that had previously been under their care. Shinichi wondered how they were doing as he followed Kaito through the halls of the building they currently resided in. It resembled nothing so much as a fantastical apartment complex, a maze of interconnected dwelling spaces that had once been the various houses on the block. On the far corner, a door led to a flight of steps down to a small docking bay where several small boats bobbed in the water.

Kaito unmoored one of the small vessels and they carefully clambered in.

"There aren't any oars," Shinichi noted suddenly. "How are we supposed to get this all the way to the outskirts of the city?"

As soon as the question left his mouth, the boat gave a slight jerk and slid out onto the street turned waterway. Without encouragement or any visible means of propulsion, it turned and glided smoothly down the street.

"She sure made things convenient," Kaito said dryly with a twist to his mouth that told Shinichi he both was and was not amused. Nothing in his life was ever simple, and this had proven to be one of the only rules of the universe to which Kaito had never been an exception.

They traveled mostly in silence, Kaito brooding and Shinichi busy watching both him and the people they occasionally encountered along either side of the street. It seemed that most of the initial shock had worn off, if not the confusion. A lot of the city's inhabitants seemed to have decided on doing what they were doing, exploring their new surroundings and trying to figure out where things were. Others were helping to fish out items that had been caught up in the sudden flood, along with some people who had lost their way.

As their boat finally slipped between the last buildings on the outskirts of the city, Kaito let out a low whistle. Where there had once been paved roads and open if rocky space, there was now only a vast stretch of water which ended in the steep, barren slopes of a ring of mountains that surrounded the lake like a jagged wall to keep them in and the rest of the world out. Not that they needed that wall to know they could not escape that way. Running away never solved any problems, not for long.

"I wonder what everyone is going to do."

Kaito shrugged, his gaze flicking from Shinichi to the unusually bright moonlight that seemed to suffuse the atmosphere of nighttime in this now enchanted city. "It'll certainly be an interesting experiment, no? A city that comes to life at night and is full of birds in the morning."

All except for two young men, one of which was not really a human at all and the other caught in between the two worlds holding powers even he could not really understand or control.

"Nobody seems tired," Shinichi observed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Guess in this place, people don't need to sleep."

"Well, it wouldn't be much fun for Swan-san if we all decide to just sleep the night away, would it?"

"I suppose not." The detective hesitated, trying to gauge his companion's mood. "Are you…okay?"

The magician inhaled deeply and sighed. "I'm not mad anymore if that's what you mean—well, not _much _anyway. It's just… This whole situation, her actions, everything's gotten so complicated and I hate feeling like we're stuck. She seems so willing to sacrifice other people for her goals…"

He trailed off. Just talking about it was rousing the anger again and, at the moment, that was severely unhelpful. Deep down, he knew he was just stressed because he couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to Shinichi, and he hated how his partner was being used as a way of getting to him. Hated how _she _was trying to use his lover as a way of bargaining with him. He couldn't and wouldn't forgive anyone for that. Some things in the world could not be toyed with.

"So what do you want to do now?" Shinichi knew the answer but asked anyway, wanting to break the silence.

The magician shook himself and smiled a little darkly. "We're going to her party, of course."

.

Things had changed—she had changed—and they had to understand not only this new world but also its mistress in order to make their next move.

Even from the very boundaries of the city, they could see the brilliant glow of the palace lights. And as they drew closer seated in the boat with all the others, their ears could catch the sound of music and conversation. There might have been a slightly nervous giggle mixed in here and there but no laughter.

At least half the city had turned up for the party, and most of them had even dressed the part. It felt like going to one of those fancy gatherings his parents sometimes dragged him to, lights gleaming on clothes of silk and satin and velvet finer than reality could offer. Shinichi unconsciously moved to smooth invisible wrinkles from his simple, white dress shirt. It shouldn't have bothered him, he kept telling himself that, but it didn't stop the slight churning in his stomach.

Kaito was ashore the moment their boat nudged against the front steps and held out his hand for Shinichi. "Shall we join the festivities, love?"

The detective went pink but accepted his hand and let him help him onto solid land. "Don't talk like that. We're in public and it's embarrassing."

Kaito quirked an eyebrow. "Has that ever stopped me before?"

"No."

"Exactly. But don't worry. I'm not in the mood to get carried away."

And indeed, the dangerous glint from earlier was still in Kaito's eyes as he escorted him through the palace doors. It made Shinichi almost wish he _would_ get carried away. Funny how Kaito was easier to deal with when he was being his customarily insane self.

Music was playing as they entered the vast ballroom though there did not seem to be any actual musicians. Instead, the melody drifted from the high rafters, like the ghost of an orchestral performance from long ago. Kaito recognized several of his students in the crowd, several of whom were wearing the costumes they had been making for their performance of Swan Lake. It seemed that Swan had taken a liking to those, or maybe it wasn't an accident that the costumes had turned out the way they had.

"There she is," Shinichi murmured under his breath and Kaito followed the direction of his gaze to a table on the other side of the dance floor. Quite a crowd had gathered around it, but the glint of light upon unnaturally bright, silver hair was unmistakable. "Looks like she's granting wishes."

That just sounded wrong on so many levels, Kaito mused. "I guess it's time to mingle and see how things stand. Give me a moment then I'll come find you and we can put our two cents together, okay?"

Almost as soon as Shinichi nodded, the other was gone, melting into the crowd. The detective hesitated for only a moment before making his own way towards the table where Swan sat greeting her guests. He had no intention of participating in the que, but he was curious to see what people were wishing for. Some people wanted jewels, clothes, fancy houses or changes in their own appearances. One man asked for the return of his family, which had been taken from him in an accident some time ago. Shinichi had felt greatly disturbed by that one if not particularly surprised, and it had been hard to tear his eyes away from the woman and child who walked away with him. Though as he drew closer, what really caught his attention was the expression on the White Lady's face.

He wondered how real Kaito would judge her smile.

"Kudou-san, so you came too?"

Shinichi turned to find Riku and Daisuke making their way towards him. It felt a little strange to see the latter in a suit and the former in a formal dress, albeit a simple one. "Ah, yes, I only just arrived actually."

"Is Kuroba-sensei here too?"

"He is." Shinichi glanced around then added, "Where is Risa-chan? She didn't come with you?"

"She's over there," Riku said flatly, pointing towards the people gathered around Swan. The elder twin hadn't quite made up her mind yet as to how she felt about this. Risa had said almost nothing all day, just spent a lot of time looking thoughtful. It wasn't an expression her sister was used to seeing on her face. And now, all Risa was doing was standing by the wall near the table, watching and fidgeting with the lace on her pastel pink gown.

"Are you going to go speak with Swan-san?" Daisuke asked.

"I haven't decided," Shinichi said honestly. "We haven't exactly been on good terms. Though something seems…different about her now."

"I know what you mean," Daisuke said, rubbing the back of his head a little sheepishly. "She seemed so…angry before."

But now, now there seemed to be a lot less anger and a lot more resignation. Perhaps it was the fact that she had finally gotten her way with something, or maybe like them, she had just grown too tired of their extended struggle. She had said as much when she'd made her proposal.

The detective wondered if it felt so strange because it seemed like such a human reaction, less single-minded and reckless than she had been before. Was that another aspect of how this world's magic was changing? Or a result of having interacted so intimately with the real world for the past several months? If so, maybe they could use it to their advantage.

The arrival of a servant dressed in white interrupted his train of thought and they were presented with a silver platter of tiny pastries.

"No thank you," Shinichi said politely, but the man just continued to smile and hold out the plate until the three of them each took a pastry to make him go away.

Taking a bite of the frosting-covered treat, Riku made a face. "It tastes kind of strange. It's like the cake at that bakery we stopped at on our way here."

"What bakery?"

"A lot of people are reopening their shops," Daisuke explained, swallowing his pastry with little trouble. "But this tastes fine to me. Mom used to make pastries like these."

Riku frowned. "That's funny. The only things that tasted right to me at the bakery were the ones I'd had before too. Everything else was just so bland."

Intrigued, Shinichi took a bite of the pastry in his own hand. It looked like some kind of banana and almond concoction, and when he bit into it, he indeed tasted banana and almonds. Only the taste seemed slightly off, sweet enough but faint and a little uncertain. It tasted, he decided, like what he might expect a pastry to taste like if the taste depended on your memory of bananas and almonds, just another reminder that this world wasn't exactly what it seemed—or perhaps it was that what it seemed was all that it was.

"I can't believe Saehara's actually conducting interviews," Daisuke sighed, crimson eyes following the progress of his brunette friend as he pursued various of the party's attendants. "Just goes to show that life goes on, I guess. And he did tell me once that a good reporter should be able to find news anywhere."

Riku finished the rest of her pastry in one gulp and dusted off her fingers. "That's because news isn't news until you make it news."

She hesitated then asked more softly, "Do you…think she's happy?"

Daisuke blinked and looked back at her. "Who? Swan-san?"

She nodded. "Only Risa asked me the same thing earlier."

The question had annoyed the elder sister just a little. Whether or not this whole situation made Swan happy, it didn't give her the right to mess with everyone's lives this way.

Shinichi was the one who answered her. "Somehow, I don't think so. Or if she is, then she's not nearly as smart or observant as I think she is."

"Maybe…" Daisuke trailed off when the other two looked at him then continued more firmly, "Maybe we can convince her to change her mind and let everyone go. Maybe, if we can give her something in exchange that won't hurt anyone."

The "not hurting anyone" being quite important. The redhead had actually been pondering the idea for awhile now, ever since that incident with Risa and the story of Cinderella.

The detective's eyebrows shot upward in surprise. "What do you have in mind?"

.

Restless, that was the only way Kaito could describe the way he felt. He had mingled for awhile with the people in the ballroom, tested a few snacks, and generally made himself familiar with the atmosphere until he couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer and made his way to one of the open windows. Now, he stood leaning back against the sill, mulling over snippets of conversation and the expressions that people tried to hide behind their eyes. There was some happiness here, yes, because She was giving people what they wanted, or at least what they thought they wanted. But mostly, there was an anxious, twittery nervousness that got under his skin and made him scowl behind his Poker Face.

Magic wasn't meant to be used like this. It was supposed to amaze, yes, but it was also supposed to inspire and make people smile and laugh. Inspector Nakamouri—and probably Inspector Saehara now as well—would probably disagree with that, but hey, the police needed to be shaken up now and then without the danger of blood being shed. KID was really doing them a favor.

"Is something the matter, thief?"

Kaito didn't bother to look at the silver-haired woman who had moved to stand beside him.

"Done with playing goddess for tonight, Swan-san?"

Swan did not retort, though the air around her grew distinctly chillier.

"Have you made your choice yet?" she asked instead, taking a delicate sip from her wine glass.

"No, I haven't," Kaito answered bluntly.

"Are you sure? I could give you anything you want, make any wish you have come true."

A crooked smile tugged at the magician's lips as he turned away. "I don't need someone else to make my dreams come true, Swan-san. I'm the one who does that."

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>AN<strong>: The next chapter may take awhile. This entire last arch has just been giving me a lot of grief. I don't know why it's so hard to write. Anyways…

**Picture Notice!** Alaena F. Dragonstar did a picture for this chapter that I really like (especially the swan ^_^). If anyone's interested, it can be found at

http:/alaena-h(dot)deviantart(dot)com/#/d48j4d2


	12. No Fair Exchange

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

**Pairings**: Kaito x Shinichi (DC) and Daisuke x Riku (DNA)

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>XII<strong>

**No Fair Exchange**

One week.

One week in Swan Lake City and Kaito was sure he was going crazy. Well, most people who knew him would probably have said he had been insane already, but that was beside the point.

"Please tell me again why I can't have any heists right now," he demanded, shuffling a deck of cards so quickly the cards were a blur between his hands. He was pacing restlessly on the railing around the balcony of their current abode. It might have once been their apartment, it was hard to tell.

Shinichi sighed, determinedly not looking up. He knew the magician thief wouldn't fall off, but it was still slightly disturbing to watch. "Aside from the fact that there doesn't seem to be anything left in the museums to steal, we want everything to be calm and peaceful for the negotiations."

"Negotiations," Kaito muttered darkly then shook his head, banished his cards with a flick of his hand, and hopped down onto the balcony. "I'm still not so sure about this plan. I don't see why she would agree to it, not when she has control over all this."

He waved his arms unnecessarily to indicate the city around them and the lake beyond. Swan could do practically anything here without half trying. Hell, _Kaito_could do practically anything here without half trying. And he absolutely _hated_it. Thank heavens that you couldn't die of boredom.

"Can't you work on some new magic tricks or something?" That was how Kaito usually entertained himself when things were too peaceful for his tastes.

The magician rolled his eyes. "Shin-chan, all I have to do is _thank_a little harder for something to happen. How am I supposed to practice anything useful when it'll work in this world just because I want it to?"

Shinichi supposed he had a point. He hadn't thought about that before. Finally taking his eyes from his book, he followed Kaito's gaze out across the city. Despite the fact that it was nightfall, almost every building blazed with light, though none as brightly as the castle where balls had been thrown every night since that first introductory party. After that first night though, neither Kaito nor Shinichi had attended.

"Are a lot of people still attending the balls?"

Kaito answered without taking his eyes off the distant glitter. "According to Saehara-kun, yes. Though it looks to me like most people go because it's become a tradition after that first night. They go but they don't stay long."

"Maybe another week or two then before we try to talk to her then. Do you think that'll be enough? She hasn't pressed you for an answer to her proposal yet, has she?"

"Not yet. I suppose since I haven't been making trouble, she's content to just let me keep on thinking. Whether it'll be enough time… I guess that depends on if you're right, and how human she's become." With a sigh, the magician abruptly marched to Shinichi's side, set his book aside and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, we're going out. I'm bored and you're not going to ignore me in favor of a book."

The detective huffed a little at this banishment of his reading material, but didn't protest as Kaito half carried and half dragged him through the door. "But where can we go?"

"The night's still young. I'll think of something."

.

Swan couldn't understand what was wrong with her. The ball was still going on downstairs but here she was, standing on one of the palace's many balconies looking out across the city—_her_ city—and wishing that dawn would come soon. But wasn't this what she'd always wanted? Where had she gone wrong? But then maybe that was just the price of settling for second best plans.

"Um, Swan-san?"

Startled, she jerked her head around to stare at the girl peering around the entryway leading onto the balcony. She recognized her, but what she didn't understand was what she was doing there. "Miss Risa."

The girl smiled, apparently pleased that she had remembered her name. It seemed like such a silly thing to be happy about.

"So, uh, what are you doing up here?"

The question took her slightly aback, mostly because she didn't know the answer either. "…I'm looking at the city."

Hercity, her dream, her prison, her world—it hardly mattered. The important thing was that it _was_hers.

"The city really is quite beautiful at night, isn't it?" Risa said brightly, taking a tentative step forward. When Swan made no move to halt or hinder her, she squared her shoulders and moved to stand beside her. The longer the silence between them stretched, the more nervous she seemed to become, fidgeting with the lace on her pale pink dress.

At last, Swan nodded. Yes, she supposed it was beautiful. She'd done her best to make sure of that, even if she was a bit tired of this sort of scenery. It was just another reminder of how her paintings still bound her despite everything she'd tried, despite how far she'd come. It had made her quite angry once, but that felt strangely like such a long time ago.

Encouraged by her response, the girl brightened. "You know, my house is—oh, I guess I forgot." Risa's face fell. "You used to be able to see my house from here, but it all looks so different now that I can't find it. Not that the way it looks now isn't pretty. It just takes some getting used to. Do you remember my house? You've…been there before, remember?"

"I…remember," Swan said, hesitantly. It seemed strange to be discussing something so trivial, but at the same time, it was maybe just a little bit calming.

"Oh, that's good. I was trying to find our old picture albums the other day, but we seemed to have misplaced them with the change and all. I don't know why, but I think I'm afraid sometimes that I'll forget what my room used to be like."

The girl continued talking, but Swan found herself listening more to the sound of her voice than her words.

Was she…sad? The sudden and strange realization made her insides twinge in a way that had Swan's brow furrowing. But the feeling was gone as quickly as it had come, leaving her confused. The last and only time she'd felt anything like that was during the Cinderella incident and it had confused her then too. She hadn't known how—_sharp_—emotions could really be until that moment upon the bridge facing this same human girl. She'd known anger before, hatred for the confines of her paintings and envy for the humans who lived their lives outside, passing her by and never realizing what they had. But those feelings had been but ghosts compared to this fleeting _something_, something that seemed almost painful and yet so clear and so vivid. Was this…what it was like to live?

Swan shook her head. What was she thinking? She'd wanted the joy she'd seen in them, the satisfactions and exhilarations, not _this_. This feeling, whatever it was, hurt. It wasn't what she'd schemed and planned and fought for. But then why was it so hard to let go of it?

Maybe she just had too much time now, too much time and too many thoughts to confuse herself. Maybe something other than a party should be held, some competitions perhaps or festivals or games. Whatever it took, she would find a way to be pleased with what she had. It was the only way she knew how to live.

.

"So these are all the fairytale paintings?" Dark asked, glancing over the pictures Daisuke's father had laid out across the kitchen table.

Kosuke nodded, pointing to each photograph as he spoke. "It looks like they're all part of the city now. The dragon statue from _A__Treasure__to__Keep_is on top of the main city gate and the serpent from _Mirror,__Mirror_is now carved along the walls of what looks like the throne room in the palace. Those were the easy ones. The architecture of this city in general seems similar to the background in _One__Fateful__Wish__**,**_and we think that _A__Fragile__Hope_is in the roses that are now growing around the clock tower."

"I guess that means we can get everything in one go," Dark mused, picking up one of the glossy photographs for a closer inspection. "Hey, Daisuke, so can you do it?"

Peering intently at the photographs, the redhead nodded slowly. "I think so, but I'm not sure how good it'll be." He scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Honestly, I just haven't had enough practice and it's a lot more complicated than anything I've ever drawn before."

"As long as we can all tell what it is, it'll be fine," Dark assured him, gathering the pictures and handing them all to his shorter counterpart. "As long as you put your heart into it, we should be able to make it work."

He paused then added, "Any idea how long it'll take you?"

Daisuke gnawed on his lower lip, fanning the pictures out in his hand and glancing over them once more as he took a step towards his room. Why did there have to be so many of them? "I've already done some of it, but I can only really work on it at night"—swans weren't exactly the best with paint—"so maybe another two weeks? Maybe less if I push it."

"Hmm, that will have to be good enough. Do you need any help?"

"Are you offering to help?"

Dark scoffed. "Of course not. Did you forget who you were talking to? I'm a critic, not an artist. I was thinking I could go look for your school art teacher and see if she could give you a few pointers."

.

Nightfall again.

Kaito paused on the top of one of the palace towers, peering through the darkness towards the glittering windows. Nothing really happened except at night these days. Not that that made a huge difference for Kaito himself. He'd always been more than halfway nocturnal. Though in the past, nightfall had always meant something exciting, mysteries and tricks and daring adventures.

He couldn't wait to get back to that past—that future.

"Now where would you be…"

Considering it for only a moment, Kaito tugged down the brim of his hat and dropped from the tower railing. He landed in a crouch upon a windowsill some floors down and, in a swirl of white cloth, vanished inside.

He found his target in the great hall where a single, long table had been placed, draped with a rich, white tablecloth that felt almost blinding despite the dim lighting. Every place at the long table had been set and yet all the seats were empty. The lady of the palace herself stood at the far end of the room, her back to the empty room and her face tilted upwards, perhaps looking at the moon and perhaps not.

"What, dinner for one tonight? I thought you wanted company. That _was_the whole point, wasn't it? Unless I misunderstood."

"Leave. Whatever you came to say, it can wait for another time."

Kaito clucked his tongue in mock disappointment at the coldness of her voice. "How rude. And after I came all this way to make you a proposal. But then I suppose manners were never really your thing."

"I said leave!" Snarling, Swan spun around, her pale eyes flashing in the shadows cast across her face by the movement. But it wasn't her eyes that caught Kaito's attention. Tut tut, she really _was_ in a foul temper tonight, not that he couldn't see why.

"Think about it for a moment, Swan-san." Kaito lowered the knife, having snagged it from mid flight with barely a glance, meeting her icy glare with his usual, impassive smile. "We can fight it out right here, of course, that's always an option. But what good will that do either of us in the long run? I'm a fast learner. This world is almost as much mine as it is yours all considered I helped you make it real—however unknowingly. Even if I'm not the complete master of this place like you are, there's also Dark to consider. Two against one. Contrary to how it may seem, I've never been much of a betting man. But if I were, I don't think I'd look all that favorably upon your odds come a flat out confrontation. You gave us too much time to learn the rules."

Swan scowled, but Kaito noticed that her gaze seemed unfocused today, like she had far too much on her mind and no experience dealing with it all. He had to give her credit for not being an idiot at least. The results, or perhaps the lack thereof, were plain in the echoing silence of the palace around them. Somehow, even all trapped together in this world of her own creation, she remained as she had always been, alone. She had granted their wishes, filled the city with beautiful things, and watched their smiles fade away until it almost made her angry to look at them. All these faces had become too familiar, too much like _hers_.

"We have a proposal if you're interested," Kaito continued, tilting his head slightly so the lights gleamed off the lens of his monocle. "But we want you to give up this mad city of yours and return everything to the way it was before. If you do that, we just might be able to grant _you_ a wish. But it will only be…a beginning. Whether or not you can take that beginning and make it into what it is you truly desire will depend entirely on you."

Swan looked away, her hand clenching into a fist in the fabric of her too-white dress. Her tone when she spoke seemed almost desperate. "Would it really be so terrible to live the rest of eternity this way?"

Kaito spread his arms, indicating the empty room. "Isn't this answer enough for that question?"

"But you can all do whatever you want here. Anything you can think of—dream of—I can make happen. So then why?"

Why did so few people ever come to her palace anymore? Why had they all left her? Why was she still so angry, so _unhappy_?

Looking at what she had become, Kaito mused that he could almost, _almost_ pity her.

"Living doesn't mean only the good moments, Swan-san. It isn't about always getting what you want. It's about having to work for it. It's about the possibility of _not_succeeding."

"I don't understand."

"Of course not." The thief smiled crookedly. "How much do you really know about me, Swan-san?"

"What do you mean? You are a phantom thief and your presence somehow amplifies my powers. What else do I need to know?"

"Everything, apparently."

Granted, that was an impossible demand for any subject. That was why a smart storyteller learned to pick and choose the stories that they chose to tell. And Kaito was nothing if not a master storyteller.

"Well then, in that case, let me tell you a story."

"A story?" she repeated skeptically.

Kaito just grinned his crooked, sharp-edged grin. "Yes, a story about a legendary thief and a jewel called Pandora… Pandora and a chance at immortality…"

.

Shinichi started out of his thoughts as a shadow fell out of the sky to land beside him on the roof. There was only one person it could possibly be. "So how did it go?"

"Mm, okay I suppose. She threw a bit of a tantrum but other than that… Let's just say that Swan-san has a lot to think about right now."

"Good." Shinichi stood and stretched. "Guess that means we can head back now."

"Not quite yet." Taking the detective's hand, Kaito began walking towards the rooftop door. "I talked with her like you wanted me to. Now we're going to do something more enjoyable. I haven't organized a party in—well, _ages_."

"You're throwing a party? But what happened to keeping a low profile?"

"Relax. Only the people who were invited know about it so there's no need to worry. While you were off surveying the city this morning, I designed the entire premises. I bet an architect would kill to have the power to shape buildings this way. Anyhow, we'll have music and you're going to dance with me. Good thing I have such a good memory. All the CDs disappeared too when all this happened. Guess "modern" technology isn't that popular in fairytale paintings."

It was rather unlike Kaito not to use the social event as an excuse for a magic show, but then what he'd done to the party decorations might as well have been a show in themselves.

"You can't actually expect me to be able to eat this," Shinichi said dryly, prodding at the gingerbread man on his plate which promptly leapt up and ran away to hide behind his coffee mug. Icing eyes peered fearfully around it back at him.

Kaito set his own plate down, watching the cowering cookie with pity. "I wasn't expecting them to be so _pathetic_." Picking up his fork, he used it to herd his cookie off his plate to join Shinichi's behind the detective's drink. "Go on, get off. I need the plate for other things."

"Why did you even think of making them move in the first place?"

"Well, you know taste really has no effect here so I thought it would be more interesting. If you can't do anything about taste, you might as well exercise some creativity with the appearance, right? I just wasn't expecting them to act so… _Alive_."

"Right… So what else is there?"

"How about trying a muffin?"

"They don't have faces or anything do they?"

"Nope. But they dance."

"…" Well, it wasn't as though Shinichi was actually hungry. Eating in this city had become more of a habit and a pastime than a necessity. "Let's find Niwa-kun. He said he had something to show everyone, didn't he?"

"Ah, good plan. I helped him set it up in the back."

Everyone Kaito had invited had come from the Niwa family to the Harada sisters and even Saehara, who had promised _not_to write an article about it. And all of them gathered around the small dais at the far end of the room where an easel stood draped over with a black cloth.

"It's not completely done yet," Daisuke hurried to explain, carefully removing the covering. "But I wanted to get everyone's opinion and make sure that the idea is good."

The revealed painting depicted a city that seemed like a peculiar combination of their original homes and the street currently outside. Here and there, Shinichi could pick out the elements left over from the other fairytale paintings—the snake and the dragon and the flowers all similar to the things they had encountered and yet softened somehow by the sunlight. He recognized the bridge from the Cinderella painting _One__Fateful__Wish_in the foreground, linking the real and the fantastic parts of the city. And upon it stood the image of a woman dressed in white.

Squinting, he frowned. "Is she transparent?"

Daisuke hadn't drawn the whole figure yet and he could still make out traces of the original pencil outlining beneath the paler layers of paint, but the parts he had filled in definitely seemed to be see-through. He could make out the side of a building through the trailing folds of her gown.

"That's the plan," Daisuke agreed, waving at the space on the original city side of the bridge. "I want to put a couple of us in the painting on this side, only we're not going to be ghosts. Um, I was thinking I could put someone on the bridge with her, holding her hand maybe—you know, like if she can actually learn to care about someone, she'll be able to live in our world someday."

"Swan-san's very own fairytale," Kaito mused, studying the display with interest.

Shinichi nodded. "After all, living basically means having your own story, right? And being able to choose to interact with other people, to change how things happen and make choices."

Riku's brow furrowed a little and she swirled the juice around in her glass, watching it change color yet again from translucent silver to amber gold. "It seems almost unfair after all she's done to give her this chance, but I suppose that's not the right way to think about it, huh?"

"Put it this way," Dark murmured, his hand ghosting over the painting but not quite touching its surface. "If she doesn't learn and change her ways, she'll still be trapped in this new artwork. All this is for her is a chance. Whether or not she can make it a reality will still depend on her. Fairness has nothing to do with it."

Kaito nodded in agreement, his own eyes half lidded. "There is no such thing as a fair exchange for life. It's just one reason why murder is so unforgivable no, Tantei-kun?"

And this way, who knew? Maybe she could make something better of herself and make up for the things she'd done. It wasn't a matter of forgiveness so much as a matter of living on and finding a way for them all to continue moving forward. Fairness, like justice, in the end was never so easy.

By the time the sun rose, one of the only events no one in this city seemed to have any control over, the room was a mess of discarded plates and jumbled furniture where they had been shoved about for different games and dancing. Somehow, Shinichi wasn't at all surprised that no one had eaten a single gingerbread man. Instead, the entire clan was gathered in a gingerbread mansion that Kaito had created for them out of pity. Leaving the cookie construction in one corner, Kaito shooed all the swans outside before turning and making a sweeping gesture with his arm. Instantly, all evidence of the gathering melted away to be replaced by their original living room.

Poking his head back through the open window, Shinichi craned his neck to examine the results. "Wow, that was fast."

"Yes, well, there have to be _some_advantages to being in this place." Making his way out onto their balcony, Kaito stretched and stifled a yawn. Dropping his arms, he leaned back against the railing, watching his partner absently preening his wings with his beak. "Hey, do you think I could keep a feather or two? I mean, do you think they'll disappear if we leave this place?"

Shinichi lifted his head to regard him warily, shifting away from him. He didn't particularly like the idea of Kaito pulling out any feathers. "Why would you want to do that?"

"It just seems like a nice sort of keepsake, don't you think? I wonder if it would have any magical properties."

"Well, we're _not_ finding out."

"Aww, come on, Shin-chan! Just one?"

.

"Kudou-san and Kuroba-sensei can be so weird sometimes," Risa observed, watching the magician chase the swan about their balcony from the roof of a building across the street.

Riku shrugged her wings. "I guess some people are just like that."

It was what made them interesting. Risa had seen the pair out and about the city a lot lately and found that she quite liked watching them. There was a certain easiness in the way they interacted that couldn't help but draw her attention.

"I'm going to go home for awhile," Riku announced, spreading her wings. "Are you coming?"

"In a moment. You go on ahead."

Risa listened to the flurry of wings as her sister flew away. She wanted everything to go back to how it had been, but she was going to miss having wings. With a soft sigh, she unfolded her own wings and took off from the roof, sweeping low towards the street so she could trail the tip of her wing through the water. It had taken her forever to learn how to fly this well, but they had had nothing but time.

A sudden shadow made her falter and she squeaked as she dropped into the water. Someone else landed beside her. Startled by the giant wing that curled around to help her right herself, Risa looked up to find herself against the side of a massive swan with feathers that shone faintly silver in the sunlight.

"Oh, Swan-san! You scared me."

"I'm…sorry," her new companion replied haltingly, not at all accustomed to the words. Folding her wings neatly against her sides once more, Swan settled atop the water and just watched her.

Risa ruffled her feathers nervously. "Um, is something wrong?"

Swan remained quiet for so long that she thought she wasn't going to answer. She had only just opened her mouth to try and fill the awkward silence with chatter when suddenly, "You know about the thief's proposal?"

It took Risa a moment to figure out what she was referring to. "Oh, you mean the picture Niwa-kun has been working on?"

Swan nodded, finally turning her gaze away from her. "Do you…think I should accept it?"

"Well…" To say Risa was surprised that she was asking her would have been an understatement. But it wasn't like she hadn't been giving it a lot of thought herself so answering wasn't really that hard. Mustering what she hoped was a cheerful expression—who could tell on a swan?—she announced brightly, "I think it's a great opportunity."

"But what if it doesn't work?"

"You're not supposed to think that way," Risa chided, though her own head dipped in consideration. "But I guess if it doesn't work, well, I'll still be able to talk with you, right? Niwa-kun said you'd be like a ghost. I suppose it's a bit strange to like being haunted, but there does seem to be something romantic about it too."

Swan stared at her for a long moment then turned her head away, rustling her wings. It took Risa a moment to realize that she was laughing.

"Hey! What's so funny?"

.

It seemed that everything that had happened in the last few weeks had started at the Modera Museum, recently remodeled into the palace at the center of Swan Lake. Unsurprisingly, therefore, it was the perfect place for everything to end.

Daisuke had set up his painting upon the palace's front steps, propped against one of the marble pillars. Shinichi wouldn't exactly have called it a masterpiece, but there was certainly something special about it, something in the careful little details and the play of light across it all. Even surrounded by the fantastical landscape of this fairytale city, it stood out with a character of its own.

"You know, Niwa-kun," Kaito said, clapping the boy on the shoulder and winking at him, "you could be quite a good artist someday if you keep this up."

Daisuke laughed a little sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thank you, Kuroba-sensei."

He fell silent abruptly as the tall, silver-haired woman standing at the back of the group moved past him to stand in front of the painting. She lifted a hand towards it but stopped with her fingers just a fraction from her own likeness. That likeness's hand was grasped in the hand of someone else who stood upon the bridge with her though you couldn't see the person's face, and where they touched, her semi-transparent figure became solid, gaining substance. Very symbolic, she mused.

It was strange but this painting felt…different from the ones before. Her original painter had always been so cold, but this painting didn't have any of that. It didn't make her feel angry or afraid or desperate. It hadn't been painted out of an artist's desperate desire for another world, but out of an artist's love for their own.

Maybe… Maybe this could work after all.

Clearing his throat, Dark took out a black feather. "Right then, is everyone ready?"

"As ready as we'll ever be."

Daisuke, his father, grandmother, and mother all moved to situate themselves around the painting with him, marking the boundaries of a circle as it began to glow upon the marble floor. Riku pulled Risa back with her to shelter behind a pillar as a wind picked up around them, whipping through their hair and clothes. Kaito raised an arm to shield his eyes, using the other to pull Shinichi closer to him as the light grew steadily brighter. But something wasn't going right.

"Damn it," Dark swore, gritting his teeth as he poured more power into the spell. "Why isn't it working?"

In the center of their circle, Swan looked around at them, taking in the varying expressions of concentration, frustration, and hope. Then as though making up her mind about something, she squared her shoulders and stepped out of the circle.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Kosuke shouted over the roar of the maelstrom, squinting through the brightness though he didn't dare move from his spot lest he break the circle.

Shinichi felt Kaito tighten his grip on him as Swan approached them, his white cloak billowing wildly about them from the gale. Through the storm of light and wind and power, he was probably the only one who heard what the two said.

"You knew this would have to happen for it to work."

It wasn't a question.

Kaito tilted his top hat lower over his eyes, his smirk reminding the detective of the first time he'd seen him on that hotel roof, like he had so many secrets and knew so much. "I guessed."

Swan snorted and shook her head. "No matter what happens next, perhaps I will simply be glad to be rid of you."

That said, she reached out and made a gesture with her hands. For a moment, Shinichi felt an oddly familiar weight around his neck. And then suddenly, his own vision began clouding over with white. He shut his eyes tight and grasped onto the arms Kaito had wrapped around his waist, the magician his only stability as the floor vanished from beneath their feet.

* * *

><p><strong>TBC… <strong>

* * *

><p><strong>.<strong>


	13. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed or D.N Angel.

**Summary**: Meeting with witches and getting kidnapped by artwork definitely hadn't been part of the plan. D.N Angel crossover

* * *

><p><strong>An Eternal Art<strong>

**By V. Shalyr**

* * *

><p><strong>XIII<strong>

**Epilogue**

_Beep.__Beep.__Beep.__Beep._

Shinichi's forehead scrunched up in annoyance at the incessant little noise and he made a move to swat at its source only he couldn't because someone's arms were pinning his to his sides.

"Kaito," he grumbled, jostling at the person behind him, "the alarm."

His partner mumbled sleepily in reply, but a moment later, the alarm shut off and the magician sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. For a few seconds, indigo eyes blinked at their surroundings, not quite registering the change until the events of the past couple months clicked into place and his mind shot wide awake. "Good morning, Shin-chan, looks like we made it home."

Home. The word echoed in his head without comprehension for a moment before Shinichi bolted upright as well. Sure enough, he was greeted by the familiar walls of the room they shared in the Kudou manor. His hand shot up to the weight he'd felt around his neck just before the world had faded out. His fingers touched cold metal and he held it up to the sunlight spilling through the gap in the window curtains. The gemstone cradled by the silver feather had once again gone dark.

"Looks like she used it to help send us both back. Do you think it still has any power?" Kaito asked curiously.

"I don't know, but I don't really want to find out right now." Unclasping the chain from around his neck, Shinichi dropped the pendant into the drawer of the nightstand on his side of the bed. That done, he dropped back onto his back and stared at the ceiling. It felt strange to be back home again, but in a good way.

"So she had to send us back because as long as you were still there, her original paintings would have been too powerful to be sealed away again."

It sounded more like an observation than a question, but Kaito answered it anyway.

"It was my theory, yes. I mean, it wasn't like I knew how to "turn off" whatever it was I did by being there."

"Mm."

"I wonder if everything turned out all right," Kaito mused, absently running his fingers through Shinichi's hair, smoothing it out.

"I hope so."

"Guess that's all we can do, huh?" Another minute of silence then Kaito shrugged and got out of bed with a slight bounce. "So, breakfast anyone?"

The detective smiled. "Sounds good to me. Let's order out."

There was no place like home.

Shinichi wondered what it said about him and Kaito that none of their friends or family had bothered to worry about their absence. Granted, in their world, they had only been missing for a couple of days. Still, he would have thought it should stir up _some_concern. You'd think the pair spontaneously vanished for a week or two on a regular basis. Well, so maybe Kaito liked spontaneous vacations and Shinichi could get carried away when a particularly interesting case came his way, but really… He would have at least expected someone to ask about it. Or maybe it was a last lingering bit of magic that made their absence into just another, perfectly ordinary event in their rather extraordinary lives, hardly worth mentioning.

Not that either of them wanted to tell anyone about their impromptu adventure. People already thought Kaito was crazy and Shinichi a little mad by association. They didn't need to be told about murderous fairytale paintings and worlds where people could turn into other people when they thought of the people they cared about. It didn't help that people seemed to have completely forgotten about the Swan Lake painting in their world, the murders around it having been explained away with more down to earth explanations. What mattered was that no one innocent had been put in jail for it and the actual perpetrator would pay her own kind of price. Half the time, Shinichi wasn't sure he believed all that had happened himself, except then he'd look at Kaito and remind himself that things weren't always what they seemed.

One thing was for sure. Neither of them would ever look at a piece of artwork the same way again.

Aside from that however, after a few days of rest, life seemed to go more or less back to normal. As a week passed without further incident, Shinichi started to believe that they'd heard the last of the fairytale paintings and their mysterious magic. That was until Kaito slammed into their shared office at the police station one afternoon and literally picked Shinichi up out of his chair in his rush to usher him from the room.

"Shin-chan, you're not going to _believe_ what I just found."

"Hey, put me down!" Shinichi protested, squirming unsuccessfully to get out of his arms. Despite the ruckus they made, the other officers barely glanced their way as Kaito strode amidst their desks and out the door. They were all more or less used to the magician's antics by now, especially where Shinichi was concerned. "Why in the world are you in such a hurry?"

"You know how I was asked to look at that burglary case in that art museum downtown?"

Shinichi ceased his struggles at the mention of the art museum, his brow furrowing. "What about it? Did something happen?"

"Oh no," Kaito said dismissively, "I wrapped up the case in no time. Really, thieves these days have no style. But anyways, you won't believe what's on display in the galleries right now."

"Not a bunch of fairytale paintings, is it?"

"Not exactly, no."

When they arrived outside the museum's front doors Kaito finally let Shinichi down, grabbed his hand and pulled him up the marble steps. Shinichi was too consumed with curiosity by this point to notice the glances they were receiving from startled passers-by. Blue eyes took in statues in stone and wood, oil paintings and watercolors, photographs and sketches—all of which looked perfectly ordinary.

Kaito finally stopped in the middle of one of the several large picture galleries and pointed. And there upon the gallery wall was a painting set in a simple, silver frame. He'd never seen the painting before but the people in it were another story.

Shinichi's jaw dropped. "That's—but that's…"

"Looks like Swan-san and Risa-chan are all right," Kaito supplied, amused by his partner's look of astonishment. "I wonder if that means Swan-san still has some of her magic."

"I'm glad everything worked out," Shinichi said at last, shaking his head. "Do you think this was their way of letting us know?"

"Probably, if you don't believe in coincidences." Which neither of them did, not really.

It's kind of ironic really," Kaito continued, thinking aloud, "that in the actual story of Swan Lake, it was supposed to be love that could break the spell and turn the swans back into human beings. And we end up using the painting of a love story to break the spell of our Swan Lake. Guess stories really are powerful things. You just can't ever really escape them."

"Certain stories anyway," Shinichi agreed. Because people believed in them, and they knew now first hand just how powerful that belief could be.

"Finally feels like it's over, doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

Kaito eyed the figures in the painting thoughtfully and gave his head a rueful shake. "I'm almost going to miss it all."

"Would you want to go back?" Shinichi asked, genuinely curious.

His sharp, trademark grin flashed across Kaito's face. "Nah, all good stories must end, no? To make room for more good stories. And now that we're done playing out their story, we can get back to ours."

Slipping an arm around his detective's waist, Kaito leaned in to kiss him before steering them back towards the door. "How about we ditch work for the rest of the day and go out for dinner? You can finish your report tomorrow morning."

And behind them, in the painting, a woman in white with hair the color of silver smiled a bright, real smile that was mirrored on the face of the girl at her side.

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><p><strong>END <strong>

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: Wow, this story completely did not turn out the way I originally thought it would. But then again, I suppose that's what makes writing stories interesting. I suppose things mostly changed because partway through, I got bored with Swan's original character and decided to give her more depth so she'd stop giving me writer's block. In any case, I hope you enjoyed the story. ^_^ Have a great weekend, everyone.

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